As a little kid, I loved running through the sheets hanging on our clothesline. I can still feel the damp fabric brushing my face, smell the clean detergent, and see the multicolored clothespins clipped to the line. I grew up on 16 acres outside Nashville (Hendersonville, Tennessee) with a pony named Mingo, a dozen or so cows in the pasture, and woods where I spent hours playing. My little sister and I built moss-carpeted “homes” and swung on vines until the sun went down.
I thought about all of this last week in Hydra, Greece, where almost no one owns a dryer. Everyone hangs their laundry out in the sun. One afternoon, as I clipped my clothes to the line outside my tiny Airbnb, I felt transported right back to childhood. It’s lovely how something as ordinary as doing laundry can open the door to sweet memories. Now that I’m home, it’s those small, intentional act - like letting laundry dry in the breeze, that I find myself missing most.
My small laundry rack outside my AirBnb.
Life in St. Louis feels fast-paced, productivity-driven, and very full. It’s the culture we’re swimming in, and I’m a product of it, too. I notice how quick I am to move on, to get to the next thing. Even during my retreat in Greece, I was the first to slip out of our meeting. It’s often my default rhythm: go, go, go. Even when there’s no real reason to hurry, my body assumes there is.
This week’s free subscriber recipe!
Sheet Pan Autumn Quinoa Salad: Hearty grains meet roasted fall veggies in this colorful salad. Tossed with a simple dressing, it’s wholesome, warm, and weeknight-easy.
