Being perplexed for many years now, I believe I've discovered the true whereabouts of all those missing socks.  You know what socks I'm referring to.  The ones who seem to abandon their mate during a wash cycle.  For years I've speculated about where all of these socks must disappear to.  I was beginning to become convinced that the sock makers and whirlpool were in cahoots somehow.  They must have discovered a way to obliterate socks in the wash so consumers would be forced to buy more.  There's got to be a conspiracy in there some where, right?

Well, if you live in this house, it's likely your socks have fallen victim to a newly walking toddler.  We've just begun our fourth "walking toddler" stage and I caught the little cutie in the act.  I'm folding laundry and when I'm not looking she begins to gather "stray socks" (the ones that have fallen from the basket on the way to where I'll be folding).  One by one she toddles over to the trash can.  "What a wonderfully fun contraption this is", she thinks as she presses the lid and it magically rises on it's own.  She then tosses in the sock and closes the lid with a click.  I hear the click a third time and am poised to scold one of the older kids for playing with it (trust me, they all find it fascinating for some reason).  What do I see, my darling little toddler tossing in yet another sock.

After some gentle correction and stifled laughs I realize yet again why I love what I do so much.  Catching my little sock thief in action was a memory I'll not soon forget - I'm glad I was here to share it with her.