SLICE #30- THE LAUNDRY GODDESS

For as long as I can remember, my mom has been the laundry goddess.

She's one of the few people I know who absolutely loves doing laundry.

And she's really, really good at it.

Her own laundry is always perfect-

ringless collars, creases aligned, no leftover spots.

I have occasionally been known to bring her

a few troublesome spots and stains

Because I knew that my mom,

the laundry goddess,

could make them all disappear.


But now that has all changed.

My mom cannot manage the walker,

maintain her balance,

and do laundry.

So my sisters and I have taken over.


Today I was at my mom's apartment

and the hamper was overflowing.

I was nervous because I knew

I could not hope to measure up to the standards

of the laundry goddess.

I did one load in the laundromat

across the hall from her apartment

It was slow.

and it didn't seem like the dryer worked all that well

I decided to bring the other two loads home

because my washer and dryer

work much better.

So tonight this

reluctant and incompetent

laundry lackey

is doing laundry

for the goddess

My mom pulls clothes from the dryer

after only a few minutes

hangs them carefully on plastic hangers

clothespins the pant legs from the bottom

I usually throw everything in the dryer

and leave it until I need the dryer again

or need something out of that load

tonight I am digging through my closet

searching for plastic hangers and clothespins

and jumping up every few minutes

to pull items from the dryer

hoping that by some miracle

my meager efforts

will meet the approval

of my mother

the laundry goddess.