As my college children return home, they bring with them mountains of laundry. What had been an arduous task several years ago, keeping the sports uniforms clean in time for the next game or meet, is now a joy because it means that the little birds are back in my nest. Wading through the detritus of the school year that has migrated into previously pristine spaces, I am thankful for the brief opportunity to wash, iron, and wash again. 

As I divide lights and darks, towels and exercise clothes, I am struck by the unfamiliar items I discover. The party t-shirts, the new jeans, a sweatshirt I have never seen worn. It is a reminder that so many of our days are lived apart. 

Nestled sweetly in the sheets I discover one very familiar holdover from the younger years when I was a witness to the minutiae of my children’s lives: The security blanket.