Monday 27 January 2014

The Memories in a Clothes Peg

I was just hanging up the washing on the drying rack that hangs over the bannister in our attic when I dropped a clothes peg. I was struck by a wave of nostalgia as I watched the brown, wooden peg tumble down the stairs. Yes, a clothes peg. An innocent everyday household item but it momentarily stopped me in my tracks. I paused what I was doing whilst my thoughts involuntarily floated back to a different time. One not so long ago in reality but one that feels so long ago.

Once upon a time I needed a LOT of pegs to hang the washing up on the clothes dryers. The clothes were so small, the line was full of tiny socks, little sleeveless rompers, all in one baby suits, pyjamas, cloths. I could get five or six items on one line of the clothes airer, sometimes even more. By the time I'd finished hanging up the load from the washing machine my peg bag would be empty.


In fact, my clothes peg collection just kept growing to keep up with my growing family. Layer upon layer of tiny clothes hanging to dry. A reminder of the babies in the house. Babies that went through a few outfits a day, creating endless lines of washing. Tiny, tiny clothes making up stacks and stacks of washing.

And now, this morning, in the emotional aftermath of celebrating my eldest's seventh birthday, it suddenly struck me that the peg bag is never empty. There are never more than two clothes items hanging side by side to dry on the line.

The trousers are suddenly bigger, the T-shirts are wider and longer, some of the children's socks are hard to distinguish from my own. The endless lines of muslins are long gone, now used as cleaning rags or disposed of after years of mopping up after the beautiful babies that have filled our home.

There are a few rompers left, but they are no longer those of a baby, but of an active toddler who will soon have no need of nappies nor the rompers that encase them.

There are shirts and pyjamas that hang to dry that have been with us from the time my eldest was a toddler, now on their third and last adventure. Soon they too will be too small for my little family and they will head to a local woman's shelter, to join the baby clothes we sent there, donations to help other families who are in need, other babies that are less fortunate than mine. Those little garments hang now on the clothes line of another home. A far different home than the ones they started off in.

I hope when a mother dresses her baby there in the shelter, in a second hand romper and a pair of soft blue velvety trousers, despite the difficulty she finds herself in, she sees the miracle before her, holds her bundle and is filled with love. And the clothes we donated have new life breathed into them.

So, I guess, one of theses days, I'll be able to get rid of lots of clothes pegs. But for now, I count my blessings - all because I dropped a clothes peg this morning.

5 comments:

  1. I have such a hard time letting go of the clothes :) Baby socks seem to stick around forever!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is so sweet, such a simple reminder ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a beautifully accurate post. I am in that clothes peg place (although right now we're relying heavily on the tumble dryer because of a deluge of rain).

    It is SO hard to even think of parting with their clothes as our babies change so quickly and those little tiny pieces of clothing are reminders of their milestones and their lives at that very specific and short stage, but I love the idea of donating them to a woman's shelter.

    Will have to remember that when it comes time to let go a little.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It took me forever to get rid of those sweet baby clothes. I had to close my eyes tight and let them go! But not all of them! I've saved one box for each of my four children of special little outfits, shoes and blankets for when they one day become parents! What a sweet memory they will one day be on my future grandchildren!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I also kept some pieces - especially personalised things and the clothes they came home from the hospital in and I've put them in a box. One day I'll sit and show my grandchildren. *wipes away a tear*

    ReplyDelete