Monday Musings

I've been thinking of my mom today as I've done several loads of laundry and a few other chores around the house. Having neglected these tasks in favor of blogging lately, I'm feeling a wee bit guilty though I often choose to release worry and guilt these days (after cultivating this new habit over time) so I'm not likely to lose any sleep over it. I've enjoyed learning to do new things, meeting new people through their blogs, experimenting with sharing previous writings from my journals, discovering comments, and responding from the heart. Some days I spend more time at the computer than I'd care to admit. My life is so much easier than hers. She never worked outside the home because my Dad didn't want her too, and she did have three kids to raise once I appeared on the scene.

Mom always did laundry on Mondays, and we kids would help her hang the clothes on the outdoor lines to dry. Rainy Mondays always threw her off because she had specific days to do different tasks. Tuesday was for ironing, but I don't recall which specific tasks she assigned to other days. She cleaned, baked, mended, sewed our clothes, darned socks, cooked meals, and volunteered at our schools & at church. We'd sit on the back porch together to shell peas, but Mom didn't let either my sister nor I help with cooking. We did take turns drying the dishes after dinner as she washed them carefully ... never trusting us with that task either. Occasionally she visited over the fence with neighbors, but for the most part was busy all the time taking care of the family.

My mother loved to play the old upright piano in our living room, and we often gathered around to listen and/or sing along. Later in life after all 3 of us kids were married and my had Dad died, she purchased a new piano and and large organ with multiple keyboards, stops, and foot pedals ... setting them up like Liberace and Corla Panda at right angles to one another so she could play each simply by turning on the stool. She watched them faithfully on television when we were kids, and took lessons as a senior citizen ... acquiring new skills with regular practice.

Possibly the time I'm spending at my computer is similar to the time Mom devoted to mastering musical skill, once she had the time to pursue that interest for pleasure. I suspect she'd wholeheartedly approve of me sharing my writing on these two blogs as she shared her music joyfully.