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they sit down at the table and at once she places a glass of orange juice in front of each one and a bowl of hot cereal. She pours milk into each bowl and then sets the sugar bowl close so they can get all they want. The boys would gulp down the cereal, drink the juice, and then reach for some nice warm toast to eat with the eggs Mrs. Cleaver has now situated on their respective plates.

Only now does Mrs. Cleaver sit down at the table to drink her first cup of coffee.

After the family is all departed to begin their own days, Mrs. Cleaver proceeds back upstairs, picking up as she goes, taking shoes and baseball gloves up with her. These things she takes to their own appointed places as she goes into each bedroom to make the beds pick up laundry and generally setting the house in order.

She then goes into her own bedroom and makes her bed and yes, she makes his bed, they have twin beds you know? She picks up his clothes from yesterday, takes the tie out of the shirt, and puts the shirt into the laundry hamper. She then hangs the tie up in the closet.

Now she can finally get dressed herself. It is 8:00am. Are you tired yet?

Mrs. Cleaver is wearing a light, probably cotton dress, and some sensible shoes. She puts on lipstick and a bit of rouge, a spritz of Evening in Paris perfume and is ready for the day.

She is back again in the kitchen where she begins the breakfast clean up.

She stacks up dishes and places them into the sink. With stopper in place she fills the sink with hot water, squeezes in a couple of shots of Joy and it foams up nicely. She washes the glasses first, then the cereal bowls the coffee cups, the plates, three spoons, 3 knives, and three forks, plus the butter knife, and jelly spoon. She then washes the cereal pot, the pancake turner, and the skillet. She reaches into her linens drawer in the kitchen and pulls out a clean white dishtowel and one by one; she dries all the dishes, starting with what is on top, and working her way down. She puts each dish away as she dries it.

It is now 9:15 am.

Its late summer, all the vegetable in the garden are waiting for her to do something with them, the apples are hanging heavily from the branches of her apple trees. Plums are bountiful from the one plum tree in the yard and she reminds herself to get out the to pick them before the birds get them all, she has in her mind canned plums, plum jam and maybe even a cobbler. Mrs. Cleaver considers all the luscious things she can make with those plums "If I can get to them before the birds!"

Mrs. Cleaver picks a small basket of apples from that tree, and takes it into the kitchen. She then returns to the garage to retrieve a small basket, which she fills to overflowing with the lovely plums from the old tree. She sighs softly remembering how her two boys used to climb that tree and a few trips to the Dr. Office after they fell out of it!

Woman's work is never done; she knows this so well. Nevertheless, she does press on with the work ahead.

Planning her day just right she knows she will have time to work outside, but she wants to do this early before it gets too hot out there. She will have to work hard to finish it all, make the cake for tonight's dessert, and go to the store for groceries in the afternoon.

It is now 12:00 noon and time for lunch! And so it goes, and goes!

Learn more about this author, Sheila Watson Kraklow.
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