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Mom Tries Teaching Her Daughter A Lesson On Picking Up Dirty Clothes, But The Daughter Keeps ‘One-Upping’ Her
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Mom Tries Teaching Her Daughter A Lesson On Picking Up Dirty Clothes, But The Daughter Keeps ‘One-Upping’ Her

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Kids are known for leaving dirty laundry trails in the house. But this mom from Port Townsend, Washington decided to point it back at the perpetrator.

When Xep Campbell discovered her daughter Kestrel’s, 10, dirty sock on the bathroom floor, she started “a sort of sociological experiment,” leaving it where it was abandoned.

That’s not an uncommon occurrence in their house and the mom would usually just pick it up and toss it in the laundry. For some reason, in this case, she thought it would be amusing to see how long it would last if she didn’t pick it up.

A week went by. Nothing. Campbell’s daughter still hadn’t picked up the sock. Realizing this could go on for a while, the mom developed a new idea: mimicking the type of label high-end art galleries use to present their pieces with, Xep put up the information for this piece as well, listing her daughter as the artist of the “mixed media” display, later sharing the picture on Facebook.

Kestrel, however, was not to be outdone.

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Image credits: Xep Campbell

Image credits: Xep Campbell

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    “Kestrel is a smart, gentle, kind, and friendly person,” Xep told Bored Panda, adding that she’s not that tidy

    Image credits: Xep Campbell

    When Kestrel discovered a note next to her forgotten sock (aha, it did work), she immediately thought her mom was behind it

    Image credits: Xep Campbell

    But the girl was not to be outdone

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    Image credits: Xep Campbell

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    And came up with the perfect response

    Image credits: Xep Campbell

    Image credits: Xep Campbell

    Soon, the exhibition expanded with a mysterious monolith, just like the one that appeared in Utah

    Image credits: Xep Campbell

    Image credits: Xep Campbell

    More pieces of art were added

    Image credits: Xep Campbell

    And it became quite the event

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    Image credits: Xep Campbell

    “The display is still up. I’m afraid to touch it at this point!”

    Image credits: Xep Campbell

    “The animals meander and mingle around in different configurations as if they’re at an art opening now”

    Image credits: Xep Campbell

    “My daughter and I have a wonderful, communicative relationship,” Xep wrote, updating her post after it blew up. “We are very silly together and understand the importance of being ridiculous and absurd. I honestly did not expect this post to go viral — it was just another silly thing we did.”

    Many people have told the mom to use the momentum and publish a book or find another way to take advantage of the situation. After giving it some thought, however, Campbell realized she doesn’t really want any personal gain from the sudden Internet fame. There is something she would rather people considered instead.

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    “I would like to say that if this moved you or made you giggle in a way that felt really good and if you want to give something back, a donation to this amazing organization called Jumping Mouse Children’s Center would mean a lot to me. They do play-based therapy that changes the lives of children who have experienced trauma. They rely partially on community donations to keep therapy accessible to children in need. Here is a link to their donation page if you are so inclined. You can even make your gift In Honor of The Forgotten Sock.”

    Here’s what people said about the wholesome ‘sock war’

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    Justinas Keturka

    Justinas Keturka

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    I'm the Visual Editor at Bored Panda, responsible for ensuring that everything our audience sees is top-notch and well-researched. What I love most about my job? Discovering new things about the world and immersing myself in exceptional photography and art.

    Read less »
    Justinas Keturka

    Justinas Keturka

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I'm the Visual Editor at Bored Panda, responsible for ensuring that everything our audience sees is top-notch and well-researched. What I love most about my job? Discovering new things about the world and immersing myself in exceptional photography and art.

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

    Read less »

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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    Al Christensen
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's great that a ten-year-old has had enough exposure to the arts to be able to recreate a gallery. Evidently some of the creativity sunk in.

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    Al Christensen
    Community Member
    4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's great that a ten-year-old has had enough exposure to the arts to be able to recreate a gallery. Evidently some of the creativity sunk in.

    Load More Comments
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