Thursday, February 12, 2004
MOM - MOVE TO SMALLTOWN
The move to Smalltown was made at Christmas time in 1948. The Christmas holiday that year consisted of getting the necessities taken care of such as beds and kitchen needs. The following Monday dad was back at work and mom had to deal with all of the boxes and arranging. Dad was given several counties in the Eastern part of the area to work on highway equipment. He left home Monday mornings and came back Friday afternoons.
The man who was head of the garage was easy to work for and his wife helped mom get acquainted. In time she made a lot of friends and joined several community groups. While dad was away all week she made a life for herself and stayed close to the family with her wonderful letters. She was given the opportunity to work as a salesperson in one of the clothing stores and after that worked for a local grocer.
She joined church, Eastern Star, Royal Neighbors, the Garden Club and was active with each organization. Mom was no longer on the sidelines but stepping up to the plate in dad’s absence. She became more independent and capable and for her generation that amounted to several giant-steps.
During those years in Smalltown for the first time she was able to put together a home as she’d never been able to before. She decorated with things she loved and made a cozy, homey atmosphere. Weekends were spent traveling, fishing or hunting. Mom always joined in on anything dad did. She was excellent at fishing and often out-fished my dad who always had a funny excuse to save face.
Mom got to the age where being on her feet clerking in stores was too hard on her. She quit working several years before dad retired from the Highway Department and took up some of the pastimes she enjoyed. She had her windows full of violets that displayed every color imaginable. She propagated them and always had new “babies” that she potted……transplanting some of the older plants. Her gentle way made them bloom constantly for her.
She did beautiful embroidery work and on special occasions it would became a gift for some family member. I am thankful that I have a lot of her work to this day….I never discard any of those pieces….when pillowcases wear out I cut the embroidery sections out and make small heart “pillows” to put in a basket or poke into a stuffed bunny’s pocket. Mom’s work goes on and on with creative ways to “use” it. One of her samplers had a verse that dad was taken with. He told her to keep that one because it was appropriate for their home…….since they lived in a trailer. It read:
Dear house, you are so very small…
Just big enough for love….that’s all.
I have it still and wouldn’t think of parting with it. After dad died mom learned how to do latch-hooking and made quite a few items for the family… she also learned to needlepoint and piece quilts. She had the patience of Job and if she found an error it was painstakingly removed, stitch by stitch, and reworked until it suited her.
The day my dad died a part of my mother died as well. They had lived together 49 years, 4 months and 1 day. They shared some unbelievable hardships and set-backs but they held it together through good times and bad. My dad’s sense of humor and mom’s patience won the day in all of their trials. The hardest battles aren’t won with educational advantages or financial gain but how we stand in the trenches when the going gets tough.
Mom’s life with dad was over and a large part of her own was gone as well. Tomorrow we find out the rest of her journey.
Until then,
Essentially Esther
The man who was head of the garage was easy to work for and his wife helped mom get acquainted. In time she made a lot of friends and joined several community groups. While dad was away all week she made a life for herself and stayed close to the family with her wonderful letters. She was given the opportunity to work as a salesperson in one of the clothing stores and after that worked for a local grocer.
She joined church, Eastern Star, Royal Neighbors, the Garden Club and was active with each organization. Mom was no longer on the sidelines but stepping up to the plate in dad’s absence. She became more independent and capable and for her generation that amounted to several giant-steps.
During those years in Smalltown for the first time she was able to put together a home as she’d never been able to before. She decorated with things she loved and made a cozy, homey atmosphere. Weekends were spent traveling, fishing or hunting. Mom always joined in on anything dad did. She was excellent at fishing and often out-fished my dad who always had a funny excuse to save face.
Mom got to the age where being on her feet clerking in stores was too hard on her. She quit working several years before dad retired from the Highway Department and took up some of the pastimes she enjoyed. She had her windows full of violets that displayed every color imaginable. She propagated them and always had new “babies” that she potted……transplanting some of the older plants. Her gentle way made them bloom constantly for her.
She did beautiful embroidery work and on special occasions it would became a gift for some family member. I am thankful that I have a lot of her work to this day….I never discard any of those pieces….when pillowcases wear out I cut the embroidery sections out and make small heart “pillows” to put in a basket or poke into a stuffed bunny’s pocket. Mom’s work goes on and on with creative ways to “use” it. One of her samplers had a verse that dad was taken with. He told her to keep that one because it was appropriate for their home…….since they lived in a trailer. It read:
Dear house, you are so very small…
Just big enough for love….that’s all.
I have it still and wouldn’t think of parting with it. After dad died mom learned how to do latch-hooking and made quite a few items for the family… she also learned to needlepoint and piece quilts. She had the patience of Job and if she found an error it was painstakingly removed, stitch by stitch, and reworked until it suited her.
The day my dad died a part of my mother died as well. They had lived together 49 years, 4 months and 1 day. They shared some unbelievable hardships and set-backs but they held it together through good times and bad. My dad’s sense of humor and mom’s patience won the day in all of their trials. The hardest battles aren’t won with educational advantages or financial gain but how we stand in the trenches when the going gets tough.
Mom’s life with dad was over and a large part of her own was gone as well. Tomorrow we find out the rest of her journey.
Until then,
Essentially Esther
