Honey, I shrunk the clothes! What a laundry mishap taught me about peacemaking.(Ever after: marriage for a lifetime)(Column)

Norma has told me she prefers I stay away from the laundry, since I have a habit of messing up things. But if I "must" help, she's instructed me to put her clothes in the dryer for no more than five minutes, then hang them up.

One day I noticed that Norma was washing a load of her clothes. Since she was busy on the phone, I thought I'd do something nice for her: I'd surprise her and help do her laundry.

When the washing cycle finished, I removed the load from the washer and put it in the dryer.

I really did intend to take them out and hang them to finish drying. But something distracted me, and two hours later, I remembered, "Oh no, Norma's …