I try to make the best out of everything and I was tested by that today when I realized I just really, really could not put laundry off any longer.
Laundry for most is just a minor inconvenience. Up until two years ago, it was the same for me. You pop it in the washer and go about your business. It buzzes and you switch it to the dryer. Big deal. You can be cooking dinner, sitting on the couch watching this week's Walking Dead from the DVR, even getting ready for a night on the town.
But not when you don't have a washer and dryer in your home.
Now, I can't bitch too much about this because when I took my apartment, I knew this would be the case. I actually *owned* a washer and dryer before I moved here and ended up giving them to my dear friends who helped move me in. (If you saw my place, you know why that's a really big deal. It was a bitch to move into -- they deserved more than a washer and dryer. Which is why they got a futon too.) :-) I had to decide whether the conveniences of living here was worth that annoyance.
Very cheap rent. No security deposit or lease. All utilities included except electricity. Extremely responsive landlords who not only come immediately when you mention a minor annoyance like a dripping faucet, but look around and replace all your burned out light bulbs at their own expense while they're there. In the heart of the city. Walking distance to pretty much anywhere I want to go (including a couple laundromats) and off-street parking for the car that sits every weekend because I don't have to drive it anywhere. So not having laundry? Small price to pay.
Though sometimes it gets annoying as hell anyway.
So I tell myself those things above. That all those benefits far outweigh the fact that I might have to schlep a basket or two to my car before work in the morning so I can stop at the laundromat on the way home. Because, let's face it: when you're home, you're home. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes I need a new reason or two to appreciate that going to the laundromat is really not such a big deal and I should just deal with it.
It still, in all my years, never ceases to amaze me that when I put something like that out into the universe, it responds in a way that makes me get over my annoyance and actually enjoy the experience.
In the past couple months, after begrudgingly making time to do this necessity, a few things gradually became clear.
1) When I'm at home, I don't do some the things I truly love because there's always something else I "need to do." Whether it's scrubbing the toilet or stripping the bedclothes or a number of any other household tasks that call out to me to be serviced instead of just curling up on the couch for a night with my book or writing a letter to a friend. Going to the laundromat actually gives me that time! I can actually kick back for an hour and lose myself in a story or conversation without the guilt that I should be mopping the kitchen floor instead.
It reminds me of my first year out of college when I lived in Milwaukee, didn't own a car and had to take the bus to my job (as an Estee Lauder counter manager at a mall -- but oh, that's a story for another day!). I actually treasured riding the bus for the very reason that I could just curl up against the window and read my book. I guess I made the best out of that situation way back then too.
2) I've become part of the neighborhood. Where I live, most of the apartments are actually old houses turned into multi-living units as opposed to big apartment conglomerates that have the facilities on site. It also means a lot of the folks who live here live in their own homes on the streets too. I can count a few times now when a neighbor was walking down the street past the laundromat I was in (curled up on a comfy chair, reading my book of course), recognized my car and so popped in, bought me a Coke from the vending machine (actually a Cheerwine --Southerners know what this is) and just shot the shit for a while. That can't happen when you're sitting on your own couch waiting for the buzz, right?
3) I actually CAN multi-task even away from home. I have two laundromats I frequent. The choice du jour usually depends on its location. One I go to just to chill. The other is next door to a grocery store, my gym, bars and eateries. There have been times where I've browsed stores in the wash cycle, then actually did my grocery shopping after popping it into the dryer. Come back just in time to empty and fold my clothes and all errands are done at the same time. Granted, I can only do the grocery thing in the colder months (can't be letting the moose track ice cream melt in the trunk while I fold afterall), but the gym part works out perfectly.
4) I meet new people and have great conversations. About a month or so ago, I had the pleasure of chatting with a few different folks on the same night. We were all there doing the necessary chore and making the best of it. I talked with a lovely woman named Amy who lived down the block from the laundromat: turned out we were going to the same festival at the city park (a few blocks walking-distance for both of us) so we shared stories of the last time we went to the event. A gentleman there overheard us and told us he was actually a guitarist in a band who would be performing there. Turns out we had both heard of his band before so our twosome became a threesome. An older gentleman, sitting off to the side and working on his laptop most of the evening, approached us later as he was leaving with his now-clean basket of wears [sic] and mentioned he enjoyed overhearing our conversation and laughter, especially since he had been the first there, knew we were all strangers initially, and enjoyed just overhearing it all happen.
In a world where people can easily talk to strangers behind a computer screen or phone, there's something special about actually being able to do it in person. I daresay it's even becoming a skill.
So when I schlepped my clothing basket to the car before work this morning and I remembered it was there halfway through the day and almost dreaded having to actually do that task before finally being able to be home? I fortunately remembered these actual blessings that came with the inconvenience. And so I didn't mind it at all.
And now I'm writing this down, lest I ever complain again and need a reminder: you can always try to make the best out of everything, Stacy. Because when you approach it that way? It more often than not actually becomes a very amazing thing.
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