This past week I was given the opportunity to experience one of the most common tasks from a very different perspective. My washing machine (which wasn’t very old by the way) totally quit working. Apparently the Brand and model I owned was the “Edsel” of washers. I quickly found and purchased a new one, only to be put on a week long waiting list before it could be delivered.
I first want to be very clear about my thankfulness and gratitude that I have had a working washing machine, in some capacity, my whole life. Secondly, I am incredibly grateful that we had the money to replace this broken machine, when so many others may not. What I was able to experience for a very short period of time was my utter complacency for the simple things that I take so for granted every day.
All five of our children are grown and graduated. Our youngest son still is around during the week as a woodworker with my husband. I say this to remind myself that my laundry loads are currently not as large as they have been in the past, but due to the nature of very dirty work, I still find myself doing an average of two to three loads a day if I want to stay caught up.
During the week that I was waiting for my new machine to be delivered, I went to the local laundry mat two different times with five loads each time I went. Again, I do want to say how very grateful I am that I live in a country where laundry mats are plentiful and accessible. My husband asked me if I wanted him to get out our antique wash tubs and wash board. I very quickly declined. So the alternative to going to the laundry mat was not appealing at all. (For gosh sakes, I’m not having to carry my laundry on my head down to a dirty river to wash them). What I experienced made me very appreciative and opened my eyes to so many of the simple, everyday things I take so for granted.
I first loaded all the dirty clothes into separate trash bags so that it would be easy to place them in the machines at the laundry mat. I had three large bags full. Then I loaded two laundry baskets, hangers, laundry soap and dryer sheets. I drove twenty minutes into town and went to the bank to get quarters. I thought I would only need one roll ($10), but I ended up getting two rolls ($20) just in case.
I drove to the laundry mat and started unloading all my stuff, which took several trips, and started to familiarize myself with the different kinds of machines and what each machine would cost. I decided to go with the most cost effective machine at $1.75 each. Other machines could cost $4 per load or more. What I quickly found out was that the machines I chose could not handle the size loads I was used to, so I had to divide what I thought was three loads into five smaller loads. After adding the soap and the quarters to each machine, I found that one machine wasn’t working, so I had to move the load with the soap in them to a different machine.
As I grew a little frustrated with the process, I became aware of the other people in the laundry mat. It seemed like I was placed in a very different culture than what I was previously use to in the comfort of my own home where I do laundry so routinely. There was a mom dealing with a crying infant and a toddler who was trying to comfort the baby as she loaded her laundry. There were a couple of different men doing their laundry waiting for the larger capacity washers that cost $4 per load. There were women sitting and reading a book or texting on their phones as they waited for their clothes to dry. The smaller dryers were .25 cents for every 5 minutes of time, while the larger dryers started at .50 cents and then went to .25 cents for every extra 4 minutes. There was a woman who forgot her laundry soap and was emptying her purse to see if she had enough change to buy soap from the vending machines. All the while the screaming infant was waiting for mom to be able to stop and comfort her and the sibling walked around talking with total strangers trying to give away a penny she found on the floor. By the time my clothes were dry, this same cute little outgoing girl came over to complement me on shirts that I was hanging up and telling me how pretty she thought they were, and continue trying to give me the penny she found as a gift to me.
The laundry mat was a very common weekly experience to a variety of people. It could be that they too were in a situation with a broken washer, or that they needed a larger washer or dryer for larger comforters or coats, but I sensed that it was more a way of life for them. Maybe they couldn’t afford a washer or dryer; maybe they lived in locations were there wasn’t one available; maybe they moved often and didn’t want to hassle with larger appliances.
Those five loads of laundry cost $18 to wash and dry and I had to repeat that same process again before the week was over. In addition to the cost, there was the time investment to drive in, to wait for each load to wash and then dry. One load of heavy towels continued to make the machine off balance so I had to stand there and rearrange the wet load every 2 to 3 minutes until it finally spun out. I had to continually check the dryers to see if I needed to add another quarter before I could fold and hang up the clothes, load them back in the car, drive home, unload and put away. The total time was at least two hours. I was so spoiled by being able to just drop in a load anytime I had minute and then do something else while the clothes washed or dried. Maybe I could start dinner or clean a bathroom, vacuum or load the dishwasher.
Apparently, I needed to expand my thankfulness and extend my time at the laundry mat, because less than a week after I received my new washer, my drier totally quit working. As I write this, I am still waiting another day for the repair man to let me know if it can be fixed or not.
This week in the laundry mat, I saw a variety of men doing laundry. Being blessed as a stay-at-home mom, laundry was mostly my job. It seemed almost foreign to me to see men waiting on washers and driers and folding laundry. I again considered the variety of circumstances that would allow them to be there. I also began to contemplate women and men all around the world without running water, maybe forced to wash clothes in dirty rivers and streams, maybe without soap; refugees with only the clothes they have on; war zones; persecution……
I recently read the book “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp which helped to start me on my journey to daily fight for joy in all circumstances and situations and to take the dare to give thanks right where we are. I see clearly how very blessed I am just to live in America, let alone focus on the extravagant gifts I take so for granted each day.
This situation allowed me to look closely at my own shallowness; the pettiness of simple inconvenience. I pray that I will continually grow in thankfulness and gratitude and clearly be aware of the outrageous grace I am blessed by the Lord to experience each day.
– Melanie Dearing
