Lavanderia, A Mixed Load of Women, Wash and Word

Laundry, a mundane, monotonous chore, commonly referred to as woman's work has offered women opportunities to REBEL, (who hasn't slammed clothes into the scalding water when angry?); REVEAL (surely you've sorted truths and lies into piles); and REMEMBER (lost in reverie, our secrets unfurl like a sheet whipping in the breeze).

This morning my laundry hamper is stuffed with memories clinging to garments: the scent of Saturday casino cigarette smoke embedded in my favorite blouse. The fifteen dollar gambling loss was worth the delicious buffet! The sight of chili stains on hubby's shirt takes me back to the Halloween night bonfire. While that smudge of white frosting on my good black slacks makes me tingle with joy remembering how excited two year old Nicole was opening her birthday presents. It also makes me so appreciative that my ex-husband, whom I saw at the baby's party, is just that. I remember wringing his heavy fatigues by hand when he was stationed in Alaska. Twenty-five years of dunking, sloshing in gray water, hand wringing ... ah, yes, laundry, you can lose yourself in it.

I received my copy of Lavanderia, A Mixed Load of Women, Wash and Word. It is a beautiful 334 page book of women's voices. The cover, with subtle images, is the same gorgeous shade of purple as my flowering mums. The poems and personal essays
are beautiful, real, metaphoric, raw and wrenching. It is a multi-cultural glimpse of generations of women revealing their secrets, their tales of love, loss and life through the mundane task of laundry.

My story, From Old King Cole to Nat King Cole is on page 53, way up front in this high quality book, published by San Diego City Works Press
(www.cityworkspress.org) It is edited by Donna J. Watson, Michelle Sierra and Lucia Gbaya Kanga. It is available at Amazon.com.