I am not even sure if I want to know how a 16 year old girl can lose two (count ‘em; 2) pairs of pants.

“Did you check in that overflowing laundry basket that has been sitting on your bedroom floor for the past month?”   Yes, she did.

“Did you check in the two laundry baskets sitting at the top of the stairs that are both full of your girls’ clean laundry I ran for you this weekend?”    Yes, she did.

“Did you check in your sister’s closet, to make sure I didn’t hang them up thinking they were Erin’s pants?”   Yes, she did.

“Did you look under your bed?”   Yes, she did.

“Did you look under your sister’s bed?”    Yes, she did.

“Did you check your sister’s dressers?”    Yes, she did.

“No, I did not put your 2 pairs of jeans in my closet. I cannot wear your clothes, so why would I take your pants when we do not wash our clothes together?”   She doesn’t know.

Now there are certain things that go on in my house without fail, and I will never deviate from this. I absolutely, without a doubt, will not run my laundry with any of my girls’ laundry. Yes, 1-2 times a week, I run my laundry, all by itself. Not only does it save my clothes from being destroyed by the lip-gloss/markers/crayons/candy/gum that seem to get left in their pockets and laundered on a weekly basis, but it also saves me from having to dig my clothes out of their clothes when the laundry is done. My clothes get washed, dried, and taken care of immediately. They seem to be okay living out of laundry baskets, and unless if I feel motivated to put some of their things on hangers, they keep living out of those laundry baskets.

Now before you get on me about wasting water; I am not running a pair of jeans and a shirt through the washer and dryer. I am running full loads of clothes; and honestly, my girls could do a full load of clothes every, single day of the week and never get caught up on their laundry.

So what I would really like to ask her is:

“Did you leave your pants at school?” “Did you leave them at a friend’s house?” “Did you leave them at your now-ex-boyfriend’s house?” “Did you leave your pants on the bus?” “Did you give these pants to someone?” “Did you somehow wreck these pants and you don’t want to tell me?” “Did you cut these pants up like you do so many other clothes because you were trying to make something else to wear?” “Why do I have to rush to the store to buy you more pants when I’m not the one who lost them?” “Why is it my responsibility to know where you last took your pants off at!?!”

So, the mystery of the missing pants continues. I have literally been having her ask me those same questions on a daily basis for the last several days. If these pants ever turn up again, I will let you know where they were hiding!