Laundry Secrets by Chaya Cohen

Laundry Secrets by Chaya Cohen

Chaya Cohen (who also wrote the popular JewishMOM.com post “Here’s Why I Don’t Blog”) has started an Email list to share inspirational articles on her life as a Jerusalem mother of 7. I love Chaya’s writing, and just signed up! You can sign up here…

Laundry is a great teacher. That is a good thing, because I spend a LOT of time in laundry class.

What can be learned from laundry?

Firstly, the power of the supernatural. If anyone doesn’t believe that there is more to the physical world than meets the eye, ask them to explain how an empty hamper automatically refills in mere minutes.

Seriously, though, there is more.

Appreciating the wonders of technology that make a physically draining task as simple as pushing buttons.

Noticing how dirty, smelly clothing can come out clean.

Enjoying creases disappearing as the iron goes over them and straightens them.

And today, another idea struck me.

How laundry dries.

There are two typical ways that I dry the wet clothing. One is with an electric dryer, and the other is hanging the clothes out on the line.

I was thinking about how it actually works (As I mentioned, I spend ample time doing laundry to give me time to ponder the workings of the world.)

Clothing doesn’t go from wet to dry.

It goes from

1. Dripping wet
2. To wet
3. To damp
4. To dry.
And that process can be broken down into countless smaller distinctions for the varying stages of wetness (or dryness).

Because, as I understand the physics of it, each molecule of water in the wet clothing needs to individually evaporate–molecule by molecule. And when all those molecules dissolve into thin air, the clothing is dry.

And this made me think about my life…

I want change.

I want rooms to be organized.

I want people in my life to be organized.

I want speech impaired children to be articulate.

I want sensory children to be regulated.

I want wounds to heal, and cavities to be filled.

I want progress.

I want myself to be endlessly patient while I want all of the above list–TODAY!
But I’m forgetting that nothing happens instantly.

It happens, like drying laundry, one molecule at a time.

Taking the smallest nibble out of those challenges, step by step, year by year, to make that tiny difference.

Such a gentle difference that it is nearly invisible.

But as clothing dries, things change.

And my life and family can too. With G-d’s help.

5 comments

  1. Extremely poignant. Never thought laundry could get so deep. Wow.

  2. Hadassah Aber

    I really enjoyed this post . Quite amazing how we have tasks that we have to do but instead of getting annoyed we can be inspired. Boruch Hashem we enough clothes to wash and wear. I remember sitting in a laundromat with someone wearing a blanket because he had to wash his jeans!

  3. Bs´d
    beautiful thank you, I really feel like I can meditate, talk to H´, think about my relationships with my husband, with my kids, while I do the house chores

  4. How do I sign up for Chaya Cohen’s email.

    Thank you,

    Roberta, Chaya Rivka, Carasso

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