May 15: Another Dinosaur

When I came home on Wednesdays, my mother would be watching some talk show (I think) on our tiny black and white TV. She'd have a stack of damp shirts, pants, and sheets, fresh from the fridge, neatly stacked in plastic bags on the edge of the ironing board, awaiting the tortuous process of pressing. Her top of the line adjustable height model was a prized possession and every piece of laundry, even sheets and undies, spent time on its belly. 

The image of my mom proudly ironing for hours each week popped into my mind during a conversation about trying to give away ironing boards during downsizing!  I do have one, used exclusively for pressing seams in sewing projects, that I plan to keep for now; however, ironing boards, now, fit in the dinosaur category.

I do have a dinosaur 

An old, wooden relic used to
Press shirts, blouses, never sheets, 

In times when pressed linen and cotton

Were expected for school and work, 

Now used to press seams in baby quilts,

Craft projects that will someday, if fate

Allows, go to an antique shop, or more likely,

Setting into retirement in a landfill where it will

Become toothpicks for the other dinosaurs.