Friday, July 10, 2009

Fx4: Aunt Julie Airs Her (formerly) Dirty Laundry

I know, I'm a throwback. But in my humble opinion, there's something special about crawling in bed at night and falling asleep with the smell of sheets that have been dried on the line. Nothing like it!

In honor of Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Finish Fiesta, I'd like to share this little verse. I don't know the author, but it reminds me of my Mom and my grandmother and days gone by, when everything just seemed to smell sweeter!


A clothes line was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by.
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the 'fancy sheets'
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the 'company table cloths'
With intricate design.

The line announced a baby's birth
To folks who lived inside
As brand new infant clothes were hung
So carefully with pride.

The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed
You'd know how much they'd grown.

It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.

It said, 'Gone on vacation now'
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, 'We're back!' when full lines sagged
With not an inch to spare.

New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way.

But clotheslines now are of the past
For dryers make work less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody's guess.

I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung on the line!

POPrs Alert! A new POPrs Giveaway launches Sunday! Want to make your veggies...and your yogurt...sing? Make sure you tune in for Aunt Julie's maiden voyage in the world of bloggy giveaways!

13 comments:

Heather said...

What a great little poem! I never thought about how much you can learn about a family from thier laundry... but you really can!! Stopping over from SITS! Have a great day!

LisaLisa said...

Dropping by from SITStas...great poem! I must say I love the smell of fresh dried laundry from outside but boy I have really seen some laundry from others that should have been dried inside. Great Post!


Thanks for visitiny me...please feel free to come over anytime . I will be following your blog!

Rhonda said...

What an awesome poem! I have never hung clothes on a line. Unless you count getting thrown in the lake fully clothed and then having to hang my underwear from a tree to dry.

Does that count?

It might, if they had smelled any prettier by the time I put them back on again. lol

Rhonda said...

I can't believe I just said that!!! lol

Nancy said...

Lovely poem!! Totally reminds me of my grandma :)

Thanks for stopping by today, and happy Friday!

koreen (aka: winn) said...

Thanks for coming by my little part of the web...

Frankly, it's too much work to hang clothes, so I admit I'm lazy and would rather use the dryer. Growing up, there was only about a year that a line was used to hang clothes outside, and all I remember (other than how much work it was) was that our clothes always smelled like wet dog. Yes we had a dog in the yard. I never got over that. =)

Marrdy said...

I am totally with you on this one. There really is nothing better then sleeping on sheets that have billowed in the breeze!

Shelle-BlokThoughts said...

Great POEM... I haven't hung clothes on a line in AGES!!! I don't even remember what it smells like!

Jennifer said...

That's a great poem!!

Susie said...

Cool poem:-) My mom and grandma hang their laundry but I am just to lazy.

Melissa B. said...

The scent of sheets from the line? Nothin' like it!

Michelle said...

I need to figure out how to do this indoors. I don't use my dryer, just the banisters in my house (fortunately we have lots). I really want that outdoor smell. But what do you do about the ... unmentionables?

Sara said...

Love the poem, I aslo love fresh laundry, smells so good outside!