for all the right reasons Still In This Together: By

Ihave to admit, I was sort of mesmerized at first.

I honestly never thought a washing machine could make that kind of noise. It had started acting up the week before, just kind of bumping its way through the wash cycle, and I thought it was my fault for not balancing the small load well enough.

The washing machine was just purchased in October, and is a fancy one that welcomes a variety of types of fabrics and extra-large family-sized loads of clothes, supposedly laughing at owners’ worries about overloading it or needing to treat it as if it were anywhere near as touchy as the old relics we buyers had been subjected to in the past.

I was sold.

But now, aside from the fact that the new washer was terrifically entertaining with its grotesque squeals and bumping noises, it was no longer charming, revolutionary nor useful. After a half hour of elevator music and listening to John getting increasingly irritated having to wait to speak to someone in the service department, we finally gave in to the smooth recorded voice that suggested the wait may be long and online appointments may be preferable, and attempted to set up a service appointment online.

To their credit, it was a simple process, but unfortunately, there was no appointment available until after our move. Which wasn’t ideal, which meant one more distraction for the sorting and packing and staying focused on the job at hand, and which necessitated a trip to a laundromat for the first time in forever. And which turned out to be absolutely the best thing that could possibly have happened to me at this point, because it forced me to breathe, to relax and to simply sit for thirty minutes and do nothing but remember my first days as a bride.

One of the huge steps in becoming an out-of-town Navy wife was going to the laundromat, learning to carry the proper change and use the rolling laundry cart. And being advised by the older woman who ran the laundromat who instantly became a surrogate mom to all the service wives, as she taught us to