Happy Mothers Day & Do Washing Machines Really Eat Socks?
Posted on May 8, 2008
Filed Under Personal |
My dear wife is still in Texas helping our daughter and son-in-law during their “new baby” time. I am glad that she is able to be there. One of the downsides of our mobile society is the geographical separation of the extended family. In the not too distant past, it was easy and natural for family members to help each other out because they lived close to one other. Unfortunately, that is a rarity today.
However, in her absence, I’m fending for myself here in Colorado. And whenever I do this, I end up with a greater appreciation for all that she does for me. I know that most of us have a tendency to take these things for granted and it is not until they are taken away that we suddenly recognize how much we should have been expressing our appreciation for them. I often wonder how much I take the Lord’s blessings for granted and, like a spoiled and ungrateful child, fail to acknowledge and thank Him for His goodness. It may be worth pondering all of that this Sunday as we take some official time to thank the mother’s in our lives.
Well, that recognition came into focus last night. In our family, my wife has taken on the primary responsibility in the laundry department, so it has been a while since I had single-handedly done battle with the washer and dryer. I had returned from some lengthy traveling with a load of clothes to wash and so I climbed into the ring for what I thought would be a short bout. And, it was—until I began to fold and put everything away. That is when I found myself with two odd socks—“odd” meaning socks without mates.
Now, this situation isn’t actually new for me. I have often experienced the weird phenomenon of “losing socks in the wash”. It wasn’t all that unusual for only half of a pair to return from an encounter with the “machine”. I had heard others complain about it, but I had never heard anyone explain it, except to shrug it off with a resigned statement that washing machines simply “eat” socks.
But now, it had happened right under my nose. Surely I could find the answer. The trail was still warm.
So, I conducted an intensive search. I opened up the washer lid and carefully examined the inside of the tub. They weren’t there. I looked in the dryer. I even used a flashlight and turned the drum all the way around. Not there. I looked on the floor. I looked in the little gap between the washer and dryer. I then checked the laundry hamper. Empty. I scanned the floor between the hamper and the laundry room. Nothing. Then, as if something might have changed, I did the whole search over again.
Where were those two socks?
I have long known that there was something strange about washing machines.
Several years ago my wife tearfully told me that the diamond was missing from her wedding ring. We followed the normal pattern, of “when did you first notice it was gone” and “where was the last time you saw it”, which are pretty difficult things to ask in this situation. A newly engaged woman may gaze repeatedly at her new diamond ring, but after several years of marriage it doesn’t often draw your attention. However, we did narrow it down to the strong possibility that it had “popped out” within the few previous hours. That led to a retracing of her steps and a meticulous examination of every inch of rug and floor along the way, including the removal of the drain traps under the bathroom and kitchen sinks. Nothing. Then the memory surfaced of hearing something “clink” when she was putting the clothes in the washing machine. Could that have been it? Well, it wasn’t long before I had the thing disassembled—agitator, tub, drain hoses. I even pulled out the pump and shook it, with the hope of hearing the rattle of this precious little rock, whose purchase had taken the bulk of my money—which isn’t saying much. My wife and I used to “pool” our nickels and dimes to pay for an order of onion rings.
Well, each new idea of where it might be hiding brought renewed hope: “Maybe it got caught in some of the clothes and made it to the dryer!” Up we would jump, with flashlight in hand. But there was nothing there but a few pieces of lint.
We finally resigned ourselves to the reality that it was gone and eventually the days wore away the sadness of the loss. “We’ll get another one” I said cheerfully, but we both knew it wouldn’t be quite the same. The original had a flaw in it. Not visible, but a flaw that allowed us to buy a “nice” diamond at a price within my very short reach. (isn’t it interesting how “flaws” can eventually become part of why we cherish something?)
I don’t remember how many months passed, but it was a significant period of time. I don’t even remember who first heard the scraping noise in the washing machine as we were pulling out the clothes. But it had been long enough that we weren’t even thinking of any possibility other than that it must be some small pebble rolling around the bottom of the tub. I could hear it, but for some reason was having trouble seeing it. I quickly grabbed a flashlight, which produced a sparkling glint and I remarked to my wife that it wasn’t a stone, but a small piece of glass. You can imagine both the shock and joy we felt when I pulled it out and there between my thumb and forefinger gleamed my wife’s diamond.
I think it was at this moment that I began to have the first musings that there was something strange and mysterious about washing machines.
However, I did learn something from that experience that helped me. I used to believe that washing machines really and truly did eat socks. How, I didn’t know, but they just would simply disappear. So, I would throw the odd sock away. But then I began to notice that after some period of time, the mate would often return. So now, rather than throw the odd sock away, I just set them aside, because the odds are the other sock will eventually reappear…just like my wife’s diamond.
So, last night I finally gave in and accepted the fact that, yes, socks really do disappear in some strange way during the laundry process. I’m sure there must be a scientific explanation, but for now I simply conclude that washing machines don’t really eat socks…they merely borrow them for a while. 
Now, the logical question is, what do they do with them in the meantime?
Happy Mother’s Day to all those mothers who contend with a whole lot more than missing socks!
Comments
4 Responses to “Happy Mothers Day & Do Washing Machines Really Eat Socks?”
Leave a Reply
Comments are moderated and will not appear on deltackett.com until they've been approved. While we are eager to facilitate conversation by publishing most comments, we may withhold one from time to time if we deem it offensive, vulgar, overly personal, cynical, disrespectful, irrelevant, redundant or unnecessarily contentious. While we encourage you not to make others' misspellings and grammatical mistakes an issue of debate, please do your best to double-check your spelling, use correct capitalization, and use proper grammar.
Dr. Del Tackett is president of the Focus on the Family Institute and Senior Vice President to Focus on the Family. He is also the architect and chief spokesperson for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project--a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.
Subscribe in a reader
© 2007 Focus on the Family. All rights reserved.
Del,that is hysterical, but true. I feed mine like an extra child when I want to get rid of small items, like socks with relentless holes in them, that the boys do not want to part with. They make sure I do not throw them in the trash, so I do the next best thing…throw them in the washer and pray that today it’s “hungry”.
Great story. It made me smile. I’m so happy that you guys found that diamond!
Del,
Great post! Thanks for sharing your experience with your “sock eating” washer. I think we all have one of those… Cindy, it never occurred to me that a hungry washing machine could be a solution for the errant child problem ?!?! ;–)
Your text: “(isn’t it interesting how ‘flaws’ can eventually become part of why we cherish something?)”
It’s funny how important uniqueness is to all of us! I believe we all want to stand out, to be noticed, to “BE” unique… The good news is that in God’s eyes we are all unique, special, and loved beyond our finite imaginings. Can you see the contrast here? A Triune God of love, who is at the same time infinitely unique and uniquely infinite; loves each of his children, (dare I use the words again?) uniquely, and infinitely! He is acutely aware of our individual individuality because he knew us before we existed. He knew our flaws, mistakes, and our sin before we were conceived in our mother’s womb.
It’s funny and strange how an imperfection can be an endearing attribute. Thankfully, God has provided a unique and perfect solution for our imperfect uniqueness!
In Christ,
Dan…
I occasionally find a dryer sheet caught inside a pant leg or sleeve of something (even more rarely does that happen to fall out while in public). I wonder if socks ever get stuck in other clothing and then only reappear after that clothing gets washed again and the connection is lost? While nice in theory (and more palatable to my brain than other weirder ideas) I can’t say that I’ve ever known this to happen - not in my house or to anyone I know… A mystery for sure!