This is one of my great great grandmother's irons. She had two irons that I know of. I always wondered why she would need two irons, after all, my own mother had just one iron and that was completely satisfactory.
Watching Victorian Slum House this week filled in the blanks for me. My great great grandmother had two irons, so that on ironing day, she could keep one on the stove at all times, and have a hot one to work with for afternoon without wasting time waiting for an iron to heat up.
Words of wisdom from one of the children in the Slum House, "every penny counts when you're in Victorian times because it could be the one penny that gets you your meal." This child was telling jokes on a street corner in London, for a penny a joke. She described the work as embarrassing, but she was willing to do this for the benefit of her family.
We're obviously far removed from needing to take on humiliating or back-breaking work to feed our families, or request any of this of our children. So, it is difficult to imagine this life.
If there is a lesson to be learned from this show, for me personally, it is to work hard whenever there is opportunity, plan for tomorrow, because one never knows what difficulties may lie around the corner, to appreciate the blessings that I have today, and to be compassionate with someone who has less than myself.
How about you? What have been your thoughts on this show, if you've been following? And I'm guessing that I'm not the only one who owns one of these old irons. I see them in vintage and antique shops frequently, so there must be many of them out there. Do you have one, too? What do you use yours for? Mine is a book end for some of my cookbooks.
