Orange Laundry Rooms

When I was growing up we had a laundry room off of the garage which was painted orange inside. Not a soft orange, but a bright orange that was shocking to look at.

The laundry always was a place of discovery. One time my brother and I went and found a cat in the laundry room. We named in Cherry and kept it. Another time my brother and I found a snake in the laundry room. My mom had to call my aunt Tink to come and get it.

I had all but forgotten the laundry room adventures until I heard the Avett Brothers' song Laundry Room. All of the sudden the color, the childhood joy, the smell of the room, and the mystery of it came all back to me and shook me with its force.

I am scared I am forgetting my childhood at 26. The child in me is the part that I like most, and I am afraid that when it is gone the stark, serious adult in its place will bare little resemblance to the little girl who thought everything was an adventure.