Laundry is one of those chores that people either love or hate. When I talk to people who do a lot of housework laundry and dishes come up as the top two in the Ugh! factor. For me I actually quite enjoy it. Eliacin and I started our married life in Puerto Rico; we lived in a cement duplex about fifty feet from the Caribbean Sea. With just the two of us the laundry didn’t add up that fast. And with minimal days of rain and no dryer I hung it up in the back yard. I’d wash it up in the morning and throughout the morning I’d go out into the beautiful sunshine look at the sea and hang it while enjoying the fresh breeze. Ahhhh! The I’d put on a good movie in the evenings and fold it all up and put it away. It was one of my most relaxing chores.
Things have changed a bit. I live in a community house with three floors. I’m on the top floor, laundry is in the basement. My husband and I now have two kids with one in cloth diaper that we wash ourselves. Needless to say the laundry can really pile up! (I average about ten loads a week.) A member of our community calls the dry laundry that I gather throughout the day on my couch my laundry monster.
Looking back on my laundry experience in Puerto Rico I was recently trying to figure out what it was I enjoyed so much. Was it the sun, the sea, the breeze, watching my daughter playing in the yard? And I came to realize that it was a combination of all these things. A sense of all things fitting together. A joyfulness in daily tasks. A deep sense of prayer without words.
I just found you through your hubby and Elpida. It looks like we will be good friends if you keep writing like this lady:-)
I am just put my laundry monster away and am off to tackle the dishes monster.
Peace to you!
Amber
A good friend of mine put me onto your website today. I just love your laundry monster! It is fantastic. I look forward to reading your future posts.
I’ve just found your blog.
I live Sydney, Australia. We have plenty of sunny weather here and I live in the suburbs, so we have a lovely backyard with plenty of space to hang the washing in the sun.
I too find the process of hanging up the washing in the morning a ‘spirit-filling’ rather than ‘spirit-draining’ time. The sun on my back, the wind blowing around me. God and I have lots of conversations during this time. He sends me little gifts as well, like the time a flock of birds flew overhead for about a minute. The sun shining on their feathers caused a shimmering effect which was just magical. As I stood looking up into the sky, I thought, how often does God send us these lovely gifts and we are too absorbed with getting the job done and we completely miss the blessing just above, behind or beyond our immediate situation?
Washing the dishes takes a bit more from me, more due to the fact that my children (3 and 2 years) take it as an opportunity to begin WW3 in another part of the house or demand that I give them my undivided attention immediately. But amongst all this God still finds me.
I look forward to reading more as we all journey with God through EVERY day and EVERY task (repeatedly!)