‘He who labors, prays. What worship, for example, is there not in mere washing.” — CARLYLE “It’s broken. There’s no way to use it tonight. I’ll have to order some parts.” My husband’s words were muffled, coming from the direction of the open drum of our well-worn washing machine. This announcement of […]
Category Archives: Large Family
“It has occurred to me that I am only doing what every housewife did as a matter of course only a generation or two ago. She always preserved food for the coming year as it came into season and bulk-purchased staples such as sugar and vinegar. Our grandmothers did this not because they were paranoid, […]
“For years, while raising children, a mother’s time is never her own, her own needs have to be kept in second place, and every time she turns around a hand is reaching out and demanding something. Hence, a mother raising children, perhaps in a more privileged way even than a professional contemplative, is forced, almost […]
Mother, oh mother, come shake out your cloth! Empty the dustpan, poison the moth, Hang out the washing and butter the bread, Sew on a button and make up a bed. Where is the mother whose house is so shocking? She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking! Oh, cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow, […]