 |
| Powdertown: Wash Day |
Just like any growing family there were always heaps of laundry to be done, so really just about every day was considered "wash day." Upon the early years in Powdertown, Dad made us a long clothesline that stretched the length of our side yard. If the sun was out then so was our laundry! Part of our chores growing up was to hang out, take down, fold, and put away the laundry. That clothesline became the backdrop of my childhood!
This was an ordinary, uneventful, routine part of our everyday, so why even write about it? Because there is something very special and precious about the ordinary routine of everyday life. It is comforting to a child and reassures them that everything is right in their world, ask any parent. I can remember it like it was yesterday..... a bright sunny afternoon, the cat is napping on the warm sidewalk, kids are playing throughout the settlement, and I can hear the sheets on the clothesline flapping in the gentle breeze. Yes, everything is as it should be! Who knew you could pin fresh laundry and "contentedness" on your clothesline?
I think my Mom liked hanging out laundry because it is what her Mom did as well as many generations before. I'm sad to say that with my generation, the convenience of the dryer has made this tradition fade away. I did have my Dad build me a clothes line when I moved into my own house, but unfortunately it doesn't get used very often. Sometimes when it is a sunny summer day and the mood strikes me, I like to hang out a load of laundry and when I breathe in the fresh linen scent, I can't help but think of Powdertown.
Would you like to read about more of my Powdertown memories?
No comments:
Post a Comment