I did something decisively out of character today. I got out the ironing board. It’s been so long since I’ve ironed that I almost forgot how. What’s the correct order for ironing shirts? Is it collar, sleeves, buttons and back? I couldn’t remember.
You can forget about distilled water. My iron was lucky to get tap.
By the third or fourth shirt I began to get in the groove. Sure, I probably messed up the procedural steps, but the results were tangible. Shirts hung up in a neat, crisp row. I classed up my family’s wardrobe in under 10 minutes.
The kids were at school and the house was quiet. This was kind of fun, I thought. I started thinking the deep thoughts you can only contemplate when you iron. I was just like Betty Draper from “Mad Men” only I wasn’t smoking.
By 1960s standards, I’d be a horrible housewife. But in 2014, I’m just another mom who looks for a wrinkle-free label wherever she can.
Fifty years ago, women like me ironed all the time. They even ironed sheets which is completely unfathomable to me. I can see how smooth sheets would be nice on night one, but wouldn’t they be wrinkled by the next morning?
What I really don’t understand is how women could get their hair done once a week at a salon and keep it styled that way until their next appointment. How did they prevent their hair from getting messed up or sweaty? It sounds really complicated.
I wonder if some women got their hair done on the same day that they ironed sheets. Then when their husbands came home from work they’d say “Hey there honey. My hair’s in a beehive and the sheets are ironed. You know what that means!” Wink, wink.
Don’t get me wrong. I have enormous respect for housewives from every era and most especially from the 1960s. They met limited career options with endurance and grace. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to ask your husband for an allowance. When I picture myself in a beehive I shudder.
Not only was the 1960s housewife a slave to the iron, she also had to find a place to set the darn board up. According to the U.S. Census Bureau the median size of American homes was 1,500 square feet in 1960. With kids underfoot, it must have been difficult to iron without somebody getting hurt.
If anyone asks, safety concerns are why I don’t regularly iron. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
But when I do get out my board, I am extremely grateful. A whole generation of feminists worked hard to change the world for women like me. Nowadays I don’t have to iron anybody’s shirts unless I want to.
Compared to Betty Draper, Claire Dunphy’s life from “Modern Family” looks pretty darn good.
Jennifer Bardsley is an Edmonds mom of two and blogs at teachingmybabytoread.com.
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