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So. On Sunday, race day, I turned to my son Waylon and asked..."Are you going to be good and let mommy watch the race today? At least the end?" and he looked me square in the eye and shook his head an emphatic "No".

And he wasn't kidding. I didn't see one lick of the race. I did get to see some of the stuff leading up to it. All of the old race cars going around the track and footage from the beach days and past champions. It brought a tear to my eye thinking of Grandpa down there all those years ago. And about how, in 1973, I was there with my parents and Grandparents because my dad was going to get to drive his cousin's car (which didn't actually happen, long story). It was really a walk down memory lane for me. Very emotional.

Well, I have to admit it wasn't all Waylon's fault that I didn't get to see the race. Vladimir had a hand in it too.

No, really. I am kidding.

It goes something like this.

We generate a lot of dirty clothing at our house. Especially since the boys now play outside and their diapers have the huge challenge of containing liter upon liter of fluid overnight without bursting...

So, with my work schedule I don't typically get to the laundry until the weekend. This weekend was no exception.

On Saturday we found a new playground and took the boys to play for an hour or so. Then we went to Target or the Grocery Store or somewhere. We weren't home long enough for me to make a dent in the dirty pile before it was time for dinner, bath and bed (the kids' routine, not my own).

I figured it would be OK since, with President's Day, I had a three day weekend to deal with the clothes. I managed to get two loads into the wash before bed. One made it into the dryer and the other was doomed to mustiness as I galantly went to bed without drying it. I knew the boys had one more clean pair of PJs if I needed them in a pinch.

Sunday - late morning. I go down to the basement to put the wet clothes into the dryer and add another load to the wash - in an attempt to get the laundry settled before race time.

The laundry in the washing machine was sitting in a full basket of water. It didn't drain.

I turned the little knobby thing trying to get the basket to spin but nothing happened. Finally I finagled something in such a way so as to make the basket move around a little.

Task accomplished.

An hour or so later husband goes into the basement for something unrelated to dirty clothes. I ask him to please put the wash into the dryer. He reports to me that the wash is still sitting in water.

Huh?

30 minutes later he comes upstairs to tell me the washing machine is broken.

Great.

No washing machine and two 18 month olds do not a happy or clean smelling household make.

After several calls to Father In Law to confirm that the machine was in fact broken, Husband decides that it may be the timer that needs replacing. He then shuffles through the multiple phone books in our house and calls all three of the appliance repair stores within 30 miles. None are open on Sunday. It is the suburbs so I don't know what he was expecting.

So, race is starting....

We all pile into the minivan and head to Home Depot to look at wahsing machines. Not to BUY one mind you. But rather to LOOK at them and decide which one, if the timer cannot be replaced, would I like to have? They all seem the same to me. And since when is the washing maching "Mine"?

Water in.

Suds.

Spin.

Water out.

Clothes clean.

What do I know about front loaders, HE detergent and steam cleaning?

We pick out one that seems to be not too expensive. That is the deciding criteria.

Get home. Race in progress. Dinner time. Followed by bath time. Followed by tantrum (not mine, my child's. I swear). Followed by lengthy going to bed process.....

FINALLY I make my way downstairs and say out loud, pouting, "Might as well turn on the TV and watch the last few laps" to which husband replies...

"Oh. It's over"

"How do you know?!" incredulous,

"I watched the end while you were in the bathroom doing bathtime. Want to know who won?"

"No."

But I do know who won. I didn't watch one minute. And I have the entire thing on my DVR (twice, for some reason. How does it record the same thing, at the same time, twice????) - and I will never watch it. Who has time?

So, my new plan is to organize a family trip to Florida for Speed Week in 2018 when all of my boys will be old enough to enjoy and remember. Their Grandpa is going to come along too, and hopefully Uncle Bryan. I want my sons to someday watch the 100th running of the Daytona 500 with a tear in their eyes as they think back to the year we all went together...that's the Wood family legacy.

And in the end we ended up with a new front loading Maytag washing machine that was neither one of the ones we saw at Home Depot nor the least expensive we could find....and it was just delivered this afternoon.

I just got a phone call from husband...

"Your new washing machine is here"

"great."

"You have to read the manual. It is the size of a phone book"

"Awesome"

But how bad can it be? At least I hope to get through enough of it to run a load of wash before morning. The boys may have to sleep one more night in sweat pants and hoodies....but they'll survive.