Laundry Meditation

It was a ‘hangin’ out the laundry’ sort of day. The absolute perfect temperature (not too hot, not too cool), bright sunshine, low humidity, the perfect flush of a spring day. Hangin’ out the laundry got me thinkin’ and rememberin’. When I was little girl we always hung out all our laundry, unless it was rainin’. We had a clothes dryer; I never could quite figure out why mom didn’t want to use it! I did a lot of laundry hangin’. I didn’t mind it much then, and now I rather like it.

It’s simple. It’s quiet. It’s humble. It’s slow. It’s pleasant on a day like today. There is an intimacy in hangin’ which you lose when you hurriedly stuff it into the dryer. Even today most people in the world don’t use a clothes dryer; (mostly) women hang it, drape it, lug it, fold it, on lines, on rocks, on furniture, across alleyways, in basements, attics, bathrooms. . .

Time for thinkin’. Offerin’ a prayer for my loved ones whose underthings flap proudly in the breeze in my backyard, I smile.