For the second time in a matter of weeks my dryer broke. The timing always is bad to have something like an appliance "take a break." But, the opportunity to wash my clothes and then actually wait to have them dry naturally gave me reason to pause. When was the last time life actually moved at this pace?
I have memories of my mom hanging laundry out to dry when I was growing up. I think I actually tried to do it myself in the earlier years of our marriage. But, the convenience of throwing those wet clothes into a dryer and having them soft and dry in less than an hour has truly been my drying method of choice. Seriously, when it comes to underwear, you don't want that crisp, clean feel of line-dried clothes!
However, with the speeding up of modern conveniences, we have sped up our lives. I can't remember the last time I slowed down and really thought about the task I was doing. Because line-drying our clothes was new to me, it made me slow down. As I would hang up the various types, sizes and textures of clothes, I found myself thinking about the different child or adult who wore that item. Where did they wear it? What did we do? It gave me a reason to slow down.
Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't enjoy this task so much that I have decided to give up my dryer. I think I actually may have freaked out the repairman with how incredibly excited I was to see him! But, this slow down coupled with the anniversary of 9/11 has made me reconsider seriously the pace in which we are living life.
I think that today is an excellent day to start living at the speed of my drying rack....maybe we'll just go sit in the sun for a while...
Brian & Tobi
