Laundromat Memories

I sat in a laundromat this morning and watched as our clothes swirled by. As I watched our shirts and jeans toss and tumble I had a notion that they were more than clothes on this chilly Montana morning .... they were our vacation memories!! Common clothes but uncommon memories!

Funny how what one thinks of as a drudge; laundry, today I saw it for a gift. Those clothes twisted and churned about and as they spun I saw in my mind the days that have passed on our vacation so far!

The red shirt was easy to pick out as it tumbled. That was the shirt Rich wore on the 4th of July as we "partied in Paris" - Idaho, that is! We experienced the passion present in a small town as they celebrated our country's birthday!! There was a concert in the Paris tabernacle, a small town parade where they all threw candy, we sipped raspberry shakes and everybody wore red, white and blue!!




Then there was the orange shirt Rich wore at Lake Louise in Banff National Park in Canada. That was the day we walked on icefields, visited the Valley of the Ten Peaks and whispered in reverent voices...the view was incredible.


Tumbling right alongside were the cargo pants Rich wore the night that Drew proposed to Beth here in Butte, Montana. We had attended the National Folk Festival in the Historic District, stomped our feet to Acadian music, tapped our toes and clapped our hands to bluegrass. We huddled under umbrellas, munched on Fry Bread and walked the mining town hills straight up! Later that night seated at a round table of family Drew popped the question and instantly we were hugging and laughing. A great memory!

There went my favorite jeans -the ones I wore when we saw 3 waterfalls in Glacier National Park; the hiking socks which cradled toes that hiked 6 miles straight down Big Mountain in Whitefish; the pants with a new hole Rich swears he earned while bike riding -sure dear!!

What a way to see and remember our vacation; there in a laundromat in Butte. The skies are leaden today and full of cold and rain. I'll look at my blue sweatshirt with new eyes next time I wash it. We're off to create some new memories. I can't wait!