My washing machine broke down for the final time the other day. It had broken once before and the repairman came out to look at it, wiggled some wires and fixed it...for a bit. But when he came out last week, the wire wiggling was useless. He said he could get me some parts - to the tune of $300.00 - that would or would not fix the problem.
The thing is, this washer is not more than 5 years old. FIVE YEARS!!! Seriously. Is that all we can expect from our appliances anymore? Ridiculous! My Dad was the one who went to my house to wait for the repairman the first time and the last time. After the repairman left he called with the bad news that it couldn't be fixed. He then went on a rant about how "A good washer needs a center agitator and two damn buttons. Nothing more. I've had my washer since 1972 and never had a problem with it. 1972! Now you get these machines with all these damn electronic buttons and boards and you can't do a damn thing with them." Agreed Dad. Totally agreed.
So there it was. I needed a new washer. In the meantime of course, the kids insisted on wearing clothes. I went into a sort of laundry denial. I just pretended it wasn't piling up down there in the basement and pretended it would all be ok. But it wasn't. The stacks got higher and higher and the underwear drawers got lower and lower. Creative ideas were emerging about how to get more wear out of every piece of clothing. I was getting to the point of no return. My options (based on my limited budget) were a trip to the laundry mat or beating the clothes against a rock in the stream.
Needless to say I was feeling very defeated. Then I got a text. It was from my sister Kelly asking me to stop by her house after work. I wanted to know why and she just said, "Never mind, just stop by." And so I did. When I arrived, my 10 year old niece, Lucy, met me at the door. She took me by the hand and led me to the dining room. When I entered the room I saw ALL OF MY LAUNDRY on the table. Washed, dried and neatly folded. ALL OF IT. WEEKS WORTH of it. She even had the ironing board set up and asked which items I wanted her to iron! I was stunned. I burst into tears and couldn't stop crying. It still makes me cry when I think of it.
Lucy explained that she asked her Mom to drop her off at my house so she could do a few loads of laundry for me. Once she realized the washer was broken, she called her Mom and they bagged it all up and took it back to their house. Lucy worked on it all day and she still wasn't done. She would continue to deliver loads of clean laundry to me throughout the next few days.
Honestly, it was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. Ever. Can you even imagine a 10 year old doing all that? I can't even get my own kids to pick UP their clothes, let alone actually launder them. Hell, Zoe won't even go into the laundry room because "it's scary."
But sweet little Lucy did. She's an amazing kid. Wise beyond her years and giving of herself like no one else. She loves to help others and do what she can to make their lives better. AND SHE'S ONLY 10!! Can you even imagine what a wonderful person she will grow into? She's a beautiful little soul that I have always deeply adored and now I adore her even MORE. But then, she's been taught well and she's seen good examples of giving and helping in both of her parents so I suppose it was inevitable. Still. TEN YEARS OLD!!! Amazing. So blessed to have her in my life.
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