This was my baby dress from 1961. Mom would lovingly wash our clothing, hang it all on a clothesline to dry (she had no dryer), and then iron prior to my wearing. When she would recount these activities to me, it sounded like pure drudgery .
My daughter and I are in the process of opening an ETSY shop filled with treasured vintage items-my baby clothing among them. Yesterday, I lovingly washed, hung each piece on the clothesline to dry and then ironed each teeny detail on each minute piece of my past.
As I hung and ironed, it finally came to me so clearly why Mom cherished those tasks. They are the tasks of Mindfulness and Productivity. Look at that little dress with its sweet bunnies, little sleeves, teeny weeny everything…I was revisiting 1961, only as an adult, not as the baby who wore the clothing.
What a gift to be transported back to my mom’s life, 57 years ago. When she was living that life, we lived in Oklahoma, she was a mother of two children in diapers, wife of a young Army Captain, living in a trailer in Tornado Alley. I am not.
Perhaps we have time to cherish tasks when we are not in a time crunch to get to others. The Past as Teacher in the Present.
Mary, Your pursuit of self and truth is clear in each of these writings.. To accept the tears and bathe in the sunlight along the way is a courageous path. I admire your perseverance and grit. Rod
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Rod, the pursuit of self is easier for me, now that I am a parent. Actually, it makes everything so clear. Thanks for reading my work. It is a labor of love.
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