FAMILY TREASURES THAT WE INHERIT

There are some days when everything is done and dusted and I sit on my favourite chair and twiddle my fingers, wondering what to do next.

Well just the other day, I was in that frame of mind when I suddenly had the brainwave to weigh the iron.

Yes, the same iron that is used to press out the creases in clean clothes.

According to an ergonomic study of muscular fatigue during ironing clothes with selected irons carried out by P. Aujla, P. Sandhu and R. Kaur, (2008) it was found that ironing clothes with a light weight iron causes minimum stress to the body. In contrast the heavy weight iron is most taxing to the human body.

So I took the bathroom scales and put the steam iron on it. The scales had no reading and I thought the iron must be too light to register a reading. 

Undaunted, I climbed on a chair to retrieve the kitchen scales in the top cabinet. (The beloved was watching me but he said nothing. Clever move in order to live a quiet life, I thought.)

It was a eureka moment when the iron weighed a hefty 1.8 kg.  I had finally found the reason for my sore right arm.

Like many things in life, I have inherited the iron by default.

This brings to mind the presents that I have received and the heirlooms that are in my safekeeping. There are some presents that I adore but there are so many others that are unused and simply kept, sometimes even in their original packaging, in the cupboard.

Truth be told, taste is a very individual thing.

I know of people who choose presents for others with great care and many who do not. To me, handmade presents are the most meaningful and I appreciate the time and effort that go into making them. Having said that, others might prefer store bought ones and may dismiss handmade ones as cheapskate.

The things we leave behind for another generation are the things that we hold dear.

That bracelet that belonged to my mother is still preciously wrapped in cotton wool for sentimental reasons. There are antique road shows where people bring their heirlooms to be valued. Most times, even when offered a high price, the owner of the treasured object would rather not sell it. However, not everyone appreciates what is left to him with the exception of hard cold cash.

One of my friends inherited a taxidermied moose’s head and every time she moved house she had to carry that moose’s head with her. It had become burdensome.

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I have heard often enough that jewellery should be left to daughters and not to sons, the reason being the daughters would surely mind the family treasures. I don’t know to what extent that is true. I remember my mother giving some of her gold pieces to her daughters-in-law. I wonder whether they are still kept by the daughters-in-law or they have been sold. To me material things are literally things that are temporal. It doesn’t matter whether they are kept or sold. I would prefer to leave behind a legacy - a life that is remembered with fondness. 

So I went to the electrical shop and got one nifty iron that had all the necessary functions but weighed 1.4 kg. I reasoned that a difference of 400 grammes will surely matter in the long run. It was perfect for my Asian muscles and bones. Besides that the baby blue colour was really appealing.

There is an Irish writer who said that every man must have his own dishwasher as he did not agree to how his wife practically left no empty space in it whenever she switched it on.

As for me, every woman must have her own iron and having said that, any other thing that she fancies, if money is not a problem.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY NEW STRAITS TIMES - 30 August 2015

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