How the laundry craze almost led to separation

Our dad blogger Andreas B. learns that «Diamonds are a girl's best friend» doesn't apply when his daughters start the washing machine.

When Anaïs and Olivia were little, the washing machine was in use every day. There was no other way in a four-person household. Children should be allowed to be children and live their childhood without worrying about washing stains. And so the clothes often looked adventurous in the evening. We parents managed the mountain of laundry and decided when an item of clothing could be worn for more than one day. That's how it went - until the onset of puberty.
The day came when Anaïs and Olivia started doing their own washing ... and the drama took its course. My girls like to change their clothes a few times a day. At best, the clothes they've just worn are carelessly thrown into the laundry basket, at worst, they lie crumpled around the room, where they only end up in the washing basket a few days later. People often only wash the specific outfit they want to wear. As a result, the washing machine is started in a hurry and often runs with just one item of clothing. Ecological madness.
So if I have to do it quickly, it can easily happen that my washing is washed together with my daughters' clothes. What can happen then is beyond my imagination and should really be made into a Hollywood film.

«Diamonds are a girl's best friend»

One evening, my girlfriend and I were lying comfortably in bed when she suddenly fumbled around at the level of her back as if something was bothering her and finally picked something out. She got up abruptly and switched on the bedside lamp. She held this something up to the light and then held it out to me reproachfully, accompanied by the irritated question: «What's this?»

A woman's ring! I could just about make out that much without contact lenses and I must have looked pretty stupid at that moment. I was so flabbergasted that I didn't even know what to say. Unfortunately, this reaction didn't help my credibility and my friend's mood hit rock bottom.
As she was about to pack her things, I combined my thoughts and tried to explain. Presumably this ring had got caught in my duvet cover when it was washed together with a carelessly washed pair of trousers with empty pockets belonging to one of my daughters.
The gentle reader will understand that my friend found this «causal chain» very adventurous. She stayed the night, but I could forget the goodnight kiss.
The next day, the mystery was solved: It was indeed Anaïs' finger ring and I breathed a sigh of relief. How this ring actually found its way into my bed will forever remain a mystery. Accordingly, my girlfriend's mood remained a little depressed; «Diamonds are a girl's best friend» definitely didn't apply to our laundry drama. And yet ... if I ever wanted to ask her to marry me, I would know a good place to hide the ring!

To the author:

Andreas B. lives in the suburbs of a large German-speaking Swiss city, has been separated for four years and is a single parent. His teenage daughters actually have different names, but we want to prevent future employers from coming across these unvarnished adolescent experiences. For example, he has already reported on their secret joyrides or his daughters' make-up paraphernalia.

Read more about puberty:

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  • 13 questions about puberty
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  • «For me, puberty is ...»
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