Ironing Boards

My friend Maria was visiting me last week into Memorial Day weekend. On her first morning, she came upstairs and the following conversation ensued.

“Can I use your ironing board and iron?”

“Sure, if I had one, you could surely use it.”

“You don’t have an ironing board?”

“No.”

“Do you have an iron?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“It’s early Maria and not the time of day I make jokes. I do not have an iron or an ironing board. Do you find that odd?”

She just looked at me like it was crazy, not just odd.

She is the Creative Director for a magazine that deals with women. I think that means she cares more about things like creases in sleeves than I do.

Then I started to think about it and realized that most people do have irons. Please don’t think me slovenly. I send my shirts to the dry cleaner where they specialize in ironing. I tend to let those that specialize in things do them for me. Those that specialize in desserts make them, and I buy them. Those that specialize in changing oil in my car, change the oil in my car. And, those that specialize in creased arms on shirts, can do my ironing any day.

But of course, reading this over, I clearly sound defensive and maybe I need to buy an iron and ironing board for those visiting me. I guess that telling them to shake it out and hang it in the bathroom while they are showering makes me appear to be a bad hostess. I really don’t want to be a bad hostess, so I will get one. But if you think I’m making homemade muffins when you come to visit, you can stay somewhere else.

Maria is coming back later in the month for a shoot and staying with me. I will have an ironing board and iron in her room with flowers in a vase on it when she arrives. That will make her feel guilty for making me feel guilty, don’t you think?

PS  Just for the record, I don’t own a thermometer either. If you are hot it means you have a fever and need to take Tylenol. So much easier.