I walk my dog Jake several times a day. During one of our many walks, we passed our neighbor’s house. I couldn’t help but to notice bed sheets hanging out on the line. That brought back memories of my childhood.
Grandma Roe’s clothesline and my mother’s clothesline were pretty much alike. They were just a couple of poles positioned about 15 feet apart with a couple of lines strung between them. Clothes on the lines were held in place with the old style wood pins. These days, the clothespins that I mostly see are plastic.
Grandma Boone’s clothesline was my favorite. One metal pole with four metal “arms” sticking out from the top. Four rows of line was strung between each “arm”. About all Grandma Boone had to worry about was how many grandkids she would find playing under it when it came time to take the clothes down.
As a young girl, I thought I was such a big helper. I would hand whoever I was with a piece of clothing and a clothespin when clothes were being hung to dry. Then I would go out and help fold the laundry as they were taken down to put into the laundry basket to go inside the house. As I got to be a teenager, what was once fun, became a job. I was glad to see my grandparents using the electric dryer.
Now that I’m older, I kind of miss the clothesline. I miss the few minutes of solitude that I got all to myself as I put the laundry on the line. It’s a chance to clear my head of my day of frustration and to just daydream. A time to wish to go back to a simpler way of life with a simple way of doing things.
Then I realize, “Oh wait, I have Jake.” To Jake, the clothes on the clothesline would be a temptation that he wouldn’t be able to resist. I can imagine him playing tug of war with all those clothes and bed sheets hanging there.
Perhaps I should put off getting that clothesline for now and just put my laundry in the dryer.
