'Pressing' Memories

In preparation for the mall booth, I spent a good part of my day today at the ironing board. I ironed cafe curtains, aprons, tablecloths, dishtowels and over 30 handkerchiefs!
As I stood there ironing one hankie after another, I thought about my grandmother.
Like many little girls in the 1950s, I learned to iron on hankies. Everything that was ironed at our house was 'sprinkled' with water first, using a glass 7Up bottle with a sprinkle-head added. I remember my grandma (who we called, oddly enough, Ningle -- it's a long story) sprinkling the clothes at the kitchen table, folding and rolling them up and putting them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator over night. To this day, I have no idea why they chilled.It was such a big deal to get to sprinkle my own hankies and then iron them! I remember standing on a stool at the ironing board (always in front of 'The Guiding Light', 'The Edge of Night' or 'As the World Turns' on TV) and ironing the hankies, dishtowels and, later, aprons. I felt so grown up and independent, though now I know Ning was watching to make sure I didn't get burnt or incinerate the hankies.

Today as I ironed away, these happy memories made the job go much more quickly -- all the moment needed was 'The Edge of Night'!