Napowrimo Day 16 Poem: Life is Too Short to Fold the Socks

No prompt, though the line "Life is too short to fold socks" jumped out at me from my journal today.

April 16/13

Life is Too Short to Fold the Socks

I keep my socks in a small, blue laundry basket.

Actually, socks for the whole family live there,

Unsorted and unmatched.

I used to pair them up, fold them nicely and put them away,

Until, three kids later,

There wasn't time,

Or I didn't have the energy,

Or just didn't feel like it.

When my son asked me why I stopped,
"Because life is too short to fold the socks,"

Flowed from my mouth.

And I'm right.

Think about it:

They don't get wrinkled,

Or creased,

Or suffer in any way from not being

Sorted and folded.

In fact, they may benefit

From being part of the adventure of an

Unmatched pair on someone's feet.

Who said they have to be the same in the first place?

My daughter, at least, goes out of her way

For mix matched socks.

And I love tossing them in the basket.

If it bothers someone that much,

They are free to fold the socks,

But, so far, no one has.

I'm sure when I look back on my life,

I won't regret having unfolded socks,

Or wish I spent more time doing laundry.

There are so many things I'd rather do...

Read a book,

Write poetry,

Go for a walk,

Play with my kids,

Stare into space.

All more worthy pursuits,

Than having folded socks.