Laundry

Today when I was doing laundry I decided that one load really needed just a little bleach. I got the load going and went off to do other tasks. For some reason I had to go back into the laundry room for something and the clean scent of bleach filled my nostrils. I love that smell. I know that my things, whether they be clothes or the kitchen sink, are getting clean and sanitized. And it also reminds me of swimming pools. Love it! It is so reminiscent of the wet clean clothes that snapped on the lines right outside my bedroom window when I was a teenager.

It was many years before we finally got a washer and even with a washer we still didn't have a dryer. Mom would do the washing early in the morning to get it done before the heat of the day. In the summer I would sleep with the windows open and the smell of the clean laundry, as sappy as it sounds, would wake me, or maybe it was my mom telling me to get up (for the 15th time). I have only pleasant memories of those days. Everything seemed right with the world. (Except for the time when I stayed out too late the night before on a date, and my dad wanted me to get up. But you know stubborn teenagers, I ignored him. That is until he decided the only way to get me up was to pour a pitcher of water slowly on the small of my back; my pesky brother egging him on. I think that may have been water torture. It was torture, I tell you! It was a standoff of wills! I didn't move a muscle till the pitcher was almost empty and the bed was soaked. Anyway I digress. That wasn't such a pleasant memory, but laughable now.)

Today, though, it also brought back another memory. I tell you, folks, I have a memory for everything you can think of. This one happened about 56 years ago involving my little sister who was just a toddler. Mom and we kids were at the Prague laundry mat doing our laundry since it would be years before we got a washer. Since my sister was a toddler, mom may have been pregnant or just had baby number 4 - all 4 at the laundry! Can you imagine taking 4 kids under the age 6 with her to do laundry - loads of laundry!? It was common in those days to add bleach so Mom had a glass of the clear liquid ready for the rinse cycle. My little sister must have thought it was water because she drank it just as my mother turned to see her. Oh my gosh, it was scary. She grabbed my sister up and headed to the hospital which luckily was only about 5 blocks away. As I recall they pumped her stomach. I don't even remember going with mom to the hospital so we must have stayed with the owner of the laundry mat and our clothes were still washing, too. My aunt lived in town so maybe she came to stay with us. It all worked out and my sister is well and happy today.

That isn't the only incident that we had. A year or so earlier when my brother was about two, he drank coal oil which is another clear liquid. This time we were at home. Mom told us that he was blue by the time they got him to the hospital and she thought he had died in her arms. I am glad to say that he, too, is well and happy today.

Is it any wonder that today so much is made about locking caps and locks on cabinets? When my children were little, there were times when I wondered if I should call poison control or a nurse about one thing or another. Now that my daughter has children of her own, she, too, has had those moments when she wonders or isn't quite sure if the kids need medical attention. I assure you that when your child drinks coal oil or bleach, you will not question whether emergency treatment is needed. You will run to the car with the child and drive as fast as you can to the nearest ER.

My mother-in-law told us that when she was little, one of her sisters ate a blueing stick. She laughed when she told the story. The little girl's mouth was bright blue and she and her brothers and sisters thought it was hilarious. Thank God she didn't eat enough to make her sick. Do you remember blueing? I only remember the liquid not the sticks. Blueing was
added to the white loads to make them brighter. Do you think they make blueing anymore?

On to more pleasant subjects. A couple of weeks ago I decided that my sheets would dry faster outside in this 110 degree heat than in the dryer. I spread them out on my patio furniture and within a few minutes they were ready to put back on the bed. The fresh smell was almost intoxicating, almost too fresh. It turned back the clock 50 years for me. I had forgotten that smell. As Martha would say, "Drying sheets outdoors, it's a good thing!" Try it.