The washer had just cycled off when I walked down the hall and saw the lone sock. It never fails. I find the one black sock that jumped out of the laundry basket after the dark load is done. Resting outside the hall bathroom, it is sadly out of place. That poor sock will probably remain desperately single for a week, possibly a month - maybe it will never be reunited. Left behind is a lonely place.

Stuff gets left behind - socks in the hall, grocery bags on the bottom of the cart, sunglasses at the pool, and children who can’t keep up. We rarely feel good about things left behind. Nobody plans to forget their diaper bag on the day the baby has the runs. We get caught up in our overwhelmed lives and something is forgotten.

Last week Graham was supposed to have his soccer team pictures taken. In the whirlwind of Saturday morning activity we forgot to leave early for the game and the photographer had left. Graham was very disappointed he didn’t get to order another magnetic photo of himself posed with his soccer ball.

Merritt gets left behind. She doesn’t get to go out to lunch with us on Saturdays or worship at church on Sundays. She’s left at home when we go to birthday parites or the Science Center. We try to wheel her to the dinner table each night so she can “eat” with us, but sometimes we forget.

Forgetting appointments, losing papers, misplacing remotes, all grate on our organized, categorized lives. But once in a while it is refreshing to forget something. I was secretly thrilled that Graham missed pictures. That was ten bucks saved and an extra half hour to enjoy Saturday morning. With all the stuff piled high in our baskets, there is no way they won’t overflow. It is terrible when the good stuff falls out.

I try not to forget the important things; remembering to help JP study for his Science test, talking with Paige about pre-teen troubles, asking John about his new employee. But if an occasional bag of chips for the Spanish Class Fiesta is forgotten or my grocery list sits on the kitchen counter as I walk in the store, I’ll remember the sock. It may look lonely, waiting, anticipating someone to walk by and pick it up, but really its just resting. Taking a time out before it has to be tumbled and thrashed about in the wash.

My load is getting heavy, I’m going to leave a few things behind today.