How to fold a fitted sheet

So how on Earth do you fold a fitted sheet?  Something about putting one corner inside the opposite corner then vice versa, then fold like a normal sheet.  Sounds simple right?  Usually I'll attempt it, inevitably fail, then just do the ole roll it up trick.  Luckily it gets stretched out over the mattress so no one really notices the wrinkles. 

Whew, crisis averted!  Heaven forbid there be the slightest wrinkle in my sheets!

But it always makes me think about my Grandma Showfety (from my mother's side).  She was your typical 1950's housewife.  She was a nurse in her younger days, met my grandfather and left work to raise her five children.  The house was always pristine, the kids where always at church every Sunday, and you better believe she could fold the crispest, most precise fitted sheet.  There was no way a wrinkle would find their way into those puppies!

But it always makes me think about how times have changed.  My mother, who was a product of the late 70's/early 80's way of raising children, didn't find folding a precise fitted sheet a necessity.  Instead she found making time to play with her children, take us to the park, teach us to play sports, etc, etc more important.  That's not to say my Grandma didn't spend some quality time with her children, my mother has some very fond memories of large family gatherings, annual beach trips, and learning to perfect an Orange Kiss Me Cake recipe that would knock your socks off.  But the 50's were a different time.  Women were told they most keep a spotless home, they must have dinner ready for The Man, things like that.

I'm so thankful I was not a mother during those times!

Of course, who's to say today's society isn't much different.  Women are expected to be back to work six whole weeks after having a baby, if not, look out, because inevitably there's someone right behind you chomping at the bit to get your spot on the corporate ladder.


So no, Grandma Showfety was not able to pass on her uncanny ability to fold a fitted sheet, but if there's anything she passed on that was alive and well during my childhood and will hopefully be the same for Emma's, was that family should always be your top priority.  My daughter knows I love her and that is more important to me than having a successful career or the fact she is currently napping on horribly wrinkled sheets.