I do not have to beat my clothes on a rock to get them clean. I do not have to hang my britches over bushes for them to dry in the sun. I do not have to iron my shirts for them to look free of wrinkles.

I repeat these statements as I push the button to turn on the washer and take a load of clothes out of my dryer. For the life of me, I don’t know why I dislike taking stuff out of the dryer, but I do.

It’s not a big chore. In fact, it is quite simple – open the door, take out the garment, hang it or fold it. Not a big deal, right? So, why oh why do I cringe when that bell dings at the end of the drying cycle?

My laundry avoidance issue is a complete mystery to me, and even more mysterious is the fact that it comes and goes. There are days when I go into on a washing, drying, folding frenzy. I like the sound of the spin cycle. I delight in the smell of fabric softener. I rejoice at the sight of neatly stacked clean towels… but those days come rarely.

Mostly, I drag the clothes to the washer and chunk them in with little thought about the blessing of having a washing machine that actually does the cleaning for me automatically.

How spoiled am I? Why do I take for granted the conveniences that make life so much easier than it was for my ancestors, and in fact easier than it is for lots of folks who don’t live as well as I do?

I do not have answers for those questions and even knowing I am blessed, I still don’t enjoy certain routine household things. Another example is unloading the dishwasher.

How silly is this one? I mean it’s unloading the dishwasher. Taking out clean dishes and putting them away. It takes less than 10 minutes, but if I don’t order myself to move, I’ll put it off and put it off.

Again, I do not have to trek to the river, the creek or the well and haul in water, heat it over a fire and then wash the dirty plates, cups and forks by hand. I stick pots, pans and icky casserole dishes in a machine, add some powdered soap, push a button and they come out clean and dried.

I just have to return them to their home in my cabinets, and I allow this job to become a dread in my head.

So of late, I’ve taken to conversing with myself about how I might change my perspective when it comes to stuff I find less than appealing. I decided to stop fighting the feeling and simply accept that I am not going to like everything life offers me.

Some days, I will glory in the laundry folding and celebrate dish unloading. Other days when I just go through the motions, I will make the best of doing it and reward myself when I finish by moving on to something I enjoy, like eating some chocolate.

Come to think of it, that is probably a good way to live. Do what needs doing, accept that stuff I dislike eventually passes and then I get to eat chocolate.

Boy that sounds good. Wonder if it works for grocery shopping. I mean, I don’t have to pluck the chicken or dig the potatoes or milk the cow …