It's been a balmy couple of days. I'm sure the rains are on their way, but how I love to hang out my clothes every chance I get. I confess that I actually enjoy doing laundry and most "women's work" -- the caring of children, cooking. Even cleaning can give me a sense of restoring order in the home. And my heart is at home. Oh, to be sure, the sheer routine can throw me in a funk, especially when it seems that I'll never, ever catch up. And when that happens, I take a break. But for the most part, it's the very dailiness that keeps me grounded, both in life and in writing.
Nancy Butts, my wonderful ICL Book Course instructor, introduced me to a new author -- Kathleen Norris. I found her slim book: Laundry, Liturgy and Women's Work a work of art. It resonated with me because she sees the spiritual even in humble tasks. I highly recommend this book.
Many of my short poems and stories are about our daily life with young children. Highlights published a poem: April Snow. Ladybug published Matching Socks. Yes, doing laundry has been good for me.
I hope you will all find solace and inspiration in the little things of life.
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5 comments:
I too love hanging out the clothes to dry. Love the smell of them, the feel. And many are the memories of helping Mom hang launder in the islands.
You roped me right in -- the idea of a post on laundry really perked my interest.
I LOVE hanging out laundry and watching it whip about in a fresh breeze on a sunny day. It's the one chore, apart from cooking and baking, that I look forward to doing. I'm always amazed that there are people who hate this. I even like the sight of other people's laundry flapping around...
Hate matching socks, though. Everyone in my family manages to hold one sock back so I end up with 50 unmatched ones...
Bish, it's the smell, truly. I love it when in the dead of winter I can still smell summer on an old towel that got pushed to the back of the cupboard.
Mary, you're a woman after my own heart. I also wonder about hating laundry since the washing machine does the hard work (I still remember washing clothes by hand in India and how raw my mom's hands got with that awful soap). I love watching clothes flap in the wind. Thank you for visiting.
I've lived a lot of places and the homes that are my favorite all had a clothes line- China, Italy, our first home in Germany. Something about having the time to line dry feels 'right with me'
It's warm now. I'm going to fix up a clothes line. I know I'll love living in this new house too.
Angela, you hit the nail on the head -- it's about slowing down and enjoying the sunshine, the flowers, the bugs ...
You moved? Enjoy your new home.
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