Catch the Wind: My Journey with Caroline

I reluctantly say I shouldn’t help with the sewing. I don’t know how to make clothes. Kindly, Mrs. Livingston and Caroline are okay with me sitting out. Instead I perch on the bench to watch Caroline sew, and boredom sets in within minutes. Her stitches come so effortlessly that a flicker of jealousy sneaks up on me, a feeling I’m not exactly proud of.

For a second I think about offering to help sew anyway, but these nightshirts matter too much to risk ruining one. Across the room, a stack of dirty dishes catches my eye instead, and I volunteer to wash them. Mrs. Livingston nods her approval.

Following Caroline’s directions to a well near the back garden, I discover that hauling water is far harder than it sounds. The bucket is lopsided and heavy, and water sloshes over the rim the whole way back. I pour the water into the kettle over the fireplace in the kitchen and get the fire underneath going. I’m grateful that camping trips at least taught me how to make a fire. Even so, heating the water seems to take forever.

On the mantel, Mrs. Livingston points me to a crock of homemade soap, and I scrub every dish until it’s spotless. More water has to be hauled for rinsing. Once that’s done, I carry the dirty water outside and pour it over the garden plants, just the way Caroline instructs.

One thing becomes clear by the time I finish: I will never complain about emptying or loading the dishwasher again. My face burns with embarrassment thinking back to how I snapped at Mom that morning over a chore that would’ve taken sixty seconds.

Caroline thanks me for handling the dishes, admitting that with Papa gone and Mama tied up at the shipyard, the chores never seem to end. Mrs. Livingston reminds Caroline that every task she completes frees up more time for her to sew bandages and nightshirts, or make bullets for the soldiers and sailors.

Looking out the window, I think of Mom somewhere out on a ship far from here. I haven’t made things any easier for her so far, and it’s about time I stopped complaining and started pulling my weight instead.