July 1st

I love to read other people's blogs! They are so great, some people are so insightful, others are such great writers, some are entertaining, etc. Writing my own is another matter altogether. I don't feel like a good writer, or especially insightful or entertaining. But I did take a stab at writing a story a few summers ago and submitted it to a website called Heartwarmers and they published it. Here is the link to read it. It is a true story and I was really just compelled to write it down and share it. So since it is a summertime story I will post it here, while I think of something to write about in my current life. (Well I just posted the whole story below, the link didn't work)

Welcome to Heartwarmers ~ http://www.heartwarmers.com/ The best thing to happen to mornings since the Sun! Your morning thought for the day: OK, how many people do you know who still use a clothesline in the backyard to dry their clothes? Today, we proudly present An Award Winning Heartwarmer from a first time writer who shares her clothesline experience. It's a great story that is sure to get you thinking. Email us and let us know what you remember! Thanks Dawn! __
* An Award Winning Heartwarmer *

CLOTHESLINE MEMORIES by Dawn Thompson

It's July, mid-summer and it's HOT. I walk into my garage to do laundry and am bowled over by how suffocating the air is in there! I feel guilty running the dryer in such heat. I think of the commercials on TV asking me to "give your appliances the afternoon off". Growing up, we never had a dryer in the house. My great grandmother lived with us, and she wouldn't have one. She thought dryers were for lazy people and a waste of money, and anyway, she liked how the laundry smelled so fresh hanging out on the line. Besides, it really wasn't necessary to have a dryer in Southern California -- there were always enough sunny days even in the winter to get the laundry done. Now with 3 boys in my house I am washing at least one load of beach towels, swimsuits and pool towels everyday. So, I decided to put up a clothesline in my backyard for the first time ever. I went down to the local Kmart and looked for clothesline and clothespins. I wasn't too sure they still made them, but I thought if they did they would surely have them at Kmart. I was pleased to find they did. I don't have the poles for the line in my yard like I did in my childhood home, so I set my clothesline up in the corner of the yard using the 45 degree angle of the fence to hang my line. When I was finished, I stepped back to admire my work and I was pleased with myself for thinking of it, conserving energy, and doing my part. What I wasn't prepared for were the feelings and the memories that came flooding back to me as I hung up that first load of laundry. Being out in the yard, smelling freshly washed towels, and with the sun on my back, I was suddenly in my yard I grew up in -- helping my grandmother hang out the clothes. She was always barefoot, dressed in a Hawaiian print mumu with an apron tied around her waist, safety pins on her dress front and a rubberband or two around her wrist (just in case someone needed one.) She would have her wicker basket full of clothes at her feet and a few wet items thrown over her shoulder as she hung clothes. Usually she would be singing a song or talking to the cats in the yard. Or sometimes she'd tell me a story about her childhood or her mother. If she had a bad day or something was bothering her, I remember she would say, "I sure wish I could sit on my mama's lap for a minute." All of that came rushing back to me crystal clear, like it happened yesterday. I could see her, feel her standing there with me. It has been at least 25 years since I have been in that yard with my grandma. I remember my grandmother often, think of her and miss her, but that first day in my backyard hanging clothes I felt like I had visited with her. I've never had that feeling going to her graveside or even looking at pictures. Hanging clothes used to feel like a chore. But now, I look forward to it. I enjoy going out in the yard to hang my laundry and use the time to just take a moment out of my busy day and think about things, or nothing at all -- and, have a little visit with my grandma. -- Dawn Thompson ___________________________________________ Dawn is a mother of 3, living in Costa Mesa, California. This is her first story submission and we congratulate her on achieving An Award Winning Heartwarmer. ___________________________________________ Do you enjoy Heartwarmers? Maybe your friends would too. They can join for free by sending an email to: join@heartwarmers.com ___________________________________________