Laundry

I almost always fold the laundry myself because I sort of like doing it.  Also, I'm particular about it.

A while ago, I was having Emma help me fold.  She slapdash folded a towel into a shape that roughly resembled a limp octagon.

"Fold them like this," I told her and I showed her how I fold towels into thirds and then fourths so that no edges are showing and they are a compact little rectangle.

She looked at me with that delightful blend of scorn and disdain that is the prerogative of teenage daughters. (She is really good at it.)

She just folded socks instead.

When she returned from her trip with her friends last week, Emma told me all about all the things and she said she had done a quick load of laundry before coming home.  She said, "It made me feel really accomplished and like an adult to do my own laundry.  I even washed the towel I had used."

"Good girl," I said.

Then, she said, "And I folded it in that way you taught me."