Memory Monday: Laundry Day

My husband, me, and my mother early in our marriage

                The house is quiet now; my children sleep in their beds, dreaming and softly snoring (although my daughter would vocally deny she ever snores).  I have a few minutes by myself before I join my husband who is already sleeping and probably snoring.  I have been sitting here thinking about being a wife and mother, and how it has changed (and stayed the same) over the years.

          Tomorrow morning is laundry day.  I have to do laundry, but not quite like Mother did.  She used a wringer washing machine (I remember it well; it was pink and white—Sears, of course).  Each laundry day, Mother would fill up the washer and the rinse tub.  After a load of clothes had finished the wash cycle, Mother would feed the clothes through the wringer into the rinse tub.  Then she would press a lever and swivel the wringer so that she could feed the clothes through the wringer into a basket.  Lugging the basket outside, she would hang the clothes on a line using wooden clothespins.  After the clothes dried, she would have to haul them in the house and sort the clean clothes—those to be folded and those to be ironed.  Mother would sprinkle those things she need to iron, wrapping them in a sheet and putting the bundle in the refrigerator (so they wouldn’t sour).  I often remember her saying, “I love to iron early on a Saturday morning.”   My mother said she did not mind doing laundry; she loved sending her family out in freshly starched and ironed clothes. 

          I don’t like laundry day.  Sometimes it’s really tough putting the clothes in my washer and dryer and then remembering to get them out when the buzzer goes off so I can hang up the permanent press clothes.  I hate it when I forget and leave the clothes in and have to re-fluff them to get the wrinkles out.  By the way, I love to sleep late on Saturday morning!!                    

I think that I better get to sleep. Tomorrow is laundry day after all, and I am going to need all my strength for that chore.

P.S.  I wrote this several years ago.  Since then, my daughter has married, so I don’t know if she still snores.  Also, my husband retired a few years ago and has taken over all the house work and all the laundry (after all, I write full time now).  I really don’t mind laundry day now.  Nope, not at all!