Laundry

I used to tease a certain member of my family about her laundry obsession. Now that I'm doing a bit of whites and colors myself, I might re-consider my position.

It's not the wash cycle, which is boring in the extreme. It's the drying, ie, the obscure satisfaction gained from hanging clothes outside. Obscure because I haven't figured it out yet. Here are the elements:

1. Planning all week for a sunny day, or morning, or afternoon, or please just an hour.
2. Taunting the electric dryer.
3. Taunting the power company.
4. Taunting George Bush?
5. Watching the sky for rain showers.
6. Taking down the sheets and wrapping your head in them to experience the smell of sunshine.
7. Getting into a bed with clean, air-dried sheets, drying yourself with a clean, air-dried towel, putting on clean, air-dried tighty whities, etc. etc.
8. Making your grandmother proud.

Is that enough for pleasure, or epiphany? You'd think so, although there is the unmanly embarassment, and twenty years of comments, which will take a while to undo. At least I resolve not necessarily to tease when my helpmeet starts the laundry before breakfast.