Kia ora koutou, as I was cleaning the door handles for what seems like the 50,000th time, a kind of playback happened and I got a glimpse of all the Renées, all the versions of me, all the cleaning those hands had done. It struck me that in spite of all these recreations of me over time, what my hands had done in terms of cleaning was mostly unnoticed, even by me.
Of course everyone can see the difference between a clean room and a dirty room but if a place is relatively clean most of the time its hardly noticeable whether the door handles have been cleaned or not. It has become more important to do so at this time but not more noticeable that I’ve done it. Cleaning door handles is a pact between me and the door handles only and they’re not talking.
A writing exercise I ask classes to do sometimes is write about their hands and what they’ve done. Its purpose is partly about writing (the how if it, the why of it) but partly to make them think about something we take for granted – their hands.
I called my memoir These Two Hands because it seemed to me that without them I’d have achieved very little and yet I barely do anything nice to them apart from washing and drying. Sometimes I remember to put hand cream on but not often enough. My hands are very forgiving. They go on cleaning, typing, baking and, before Lockdown, hugging, without the slightest hint they feel hard done by.
Now as I clean more handles I think I must do better by these hands. Give them a treat. Maybe rub hand lotion over them twice today. I use gloves for some things but really that’s to protect me and my food rather than my hands. Yep, okay, its a deal. From now on…
And you? Make a list of all the things your hands have done and are still doing. Or write a story or a poem – take their photograph, paint them, video them baking, washing, putting flowers in a vase, digging the garden, lugging in groceries, peeling potatoes, hanging out the washing, holding the phone while you ring someone to ask how they are. This may take a while so at the same time, rub some lotion or cream on them and just this once, say thanks, well done, you good and faithful servants…
Renée
