Washing Clothes Then and Now

Hello everyone, how are you? Today was a tiring day because I was washing the clothes. I didn't use an automatic washing machine, so it was really exhausting especially when I rinse the big clothes. I rinse the clothes 5x after the powdered soap. Somehow, I'm grateful that washing clothes in this era is easier than before.

Long time ago, we used to gather with our neighbours in this river. Memories are still clear even now that I'm 33. At the rocks, my mother would put the white fabrics for bleaching. She allowed those bleached fabrics to be heated under the sun so that,the results are whiter. She took those clothes after a few minutes to rinse immediately. She put the washed clothes back at the rocks to dry. While she did all those dryings, my father was busy of catching fish. Then he barbecued it and cooked rice. The foods were tastier if we eat those just along the river. We were surrounded by huge trees,prestine water, huge rocks, fresh air and birds singing.

This river that we call "Balangubang" was our place. My parents built a tiny home there while we were still kids. This was very forest 25 years ago and we didn't have an electric, a TV and cellphone. It was a healthy world away from the chaotic realm of internet. No radiation, no pollution and garbages. Plants were purely organic. The fishes were fresh without chemicals. What a beautiful world it had been where my parents would just spend most of their times to taking care of us, the home chores and farming.

When we went back there 18 years ago, I couldn't recognise all of my cousins because they were just toddlers when we left. They didn't know how to swim, but look at the picture, they're fearless to jump into the deep water. It in these rocks where we laid our dirty clothes and washed until cleaned. Then we dry at the neighboring rocks. While we wait for those to dry, we would lie down on the rocks while listening to the radio. I remember that we used to listen "Cry" and "Only Hope" by Mandy Moore without even caring of our skin to get a sunburn. However, during that time, the sun was not as hot as the sun today. We didn't get a sunburn, but we tanned a lot.

I wanna go back to the times when washing clothes was very enjoyable. It created a bonding between me and our family, relatives and neighbours. This place is the most beautiful spot for me as we shared many laughters and togetherness while we washed our clothes. We would chitchat a lot and we never get tired at all. If not chit-chatting and music, we would listen to our favourite drama on radio stations. It was a lot of fun, plus the place is such a paradise!

In the picture is my cousin who is an avid swimmer. I can't believe how fast she has grown because she was still a baby when we left the place. In this picture, she's already 11 years old. She can swim at the deep water. Of course, children that live there know how to swim in their early age as the place is surrounded by rivers. Sadly in this times, these kids have already left the place too. Most of them have realized that there is no future to dwell in one place. They also hunt for better opportunities in metropolitan. As the times have become so high-tech, washing clothes today is easier, but we're in a monotonous status that isn't fun at all. Even if these appliances are great help, our body gets tired easily than before. We would not know that we finish the laundry until we recognise it because we we're talking a lot with companies, sharing different stories and laughter.

Anyway, did you experience it before?