By Melissa Hart
Starch was a staple growing up. My mom would spend a few afternoons every
week standing over an ironing board making sure all of my dad’s clothes were
starched and looking crisp. She didn’t
stop there, she would starch her clothes, dad’s hankies, her aprons, doilies,
cloth napkins that were used on special occasions and especially the tablecloths
that donned the dinner table on Sunday afternoons when we were likely to have
company for dinner.
Seeing my mom set up her ironing board in the kitchen was a
normal part of growing up and I thought all moms did that, until I found out they
didn’t. But I did. Early in our marriage
I had a big pile of ironing, just like my mom.
And within the pile, along with my husband’s shirts, his Wrangler jeans,
and crocheted doilies were pillowcases. Again,
I thought everyone starched their pillowcases, until I found out they didn’t.
This led me to asking mom why on earth we starched pillowcases? It was simple, it protected the pillowcase
from the dirt and grime that can ruin or stain it. Also, it prolongs the life
of the pillowcase or anything else that could be starched. This made perfect sense, and so I continued
to spray starch on the pillowcases, napkins, white shirts, doilies, and Wrangler
jeans.
As the busyness of a family encroached on my available time
to starch the family dress clothes, the pressed pillowcases went by the wayside.
I haven’t starched a pillowcase in 25 years. But my mom on the other hand,
still takes the time to carefully spray the starch on and press in the
satisfying creases.
In a recent conversation the subject of pillowcases popped
up when she had come across a set that were given to them as a wedding
gift. That means those pillowcases were
65 years old and still going strong, thanks to the starch. Then she told me this
story; when she and my dad were newlyweds, she had just changed the sheets and
as they crawled into bed he smelled the pillowcase and asked why she starched
them. She explained why and he replied, “Whenever I smell the pillowcases it
makes me feel like someone cares.” That simple
statement filled her up 65 years ago making her feel like she had done
something right. And today, every time she starches a pillowcase that memory floods
her mind and soothes her grieving soul that misses the man she loved and who’s
pillowcase she starched for over six decades.
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