Tuesday, July 24, 2007
VARIETY FOR ME PLEASE......
I can’t imagine living without learning. I have always been an eager learner and I love it when I learn something new. Having a brain that has stagnated would not be fun for me yet I have known so many who are content to do the same thing every day and don’t want their routine messed with. That would be the death knell for me for each day I change-up how I do things and try something new.
It has always been puzzling to me that Monday was to be “wash day” Tuesday was to be “ironing day” Wednesday was “mending day“ and so on down the week. I saw many tea towels embroidered with the little captions for each day of the week growing up. Now tea towels are a thing of the past…..hello to dishwashers. Laundry day is any day you have a load to do and they can be dried within 30-minutes. American women have automated magic all over the house and they can pick and choose when and what they want to do. Multi-task moms.
Sometimes I muse over my childhood…..how different it was then. I learned so much staying with my grandmother and aunts at summer vacation time. They had a different “take” on me than mom and dad……..at home there was discipline and consequences, entertaining myself. Dad worked all the time and mom worked all the time at home. They neither one had much free time until later years. I had to entertain myself because my brother was 3 ½ years older and had lots going on. I found reading to be a wonderful avenue to take me beyond my circumstances. Reading is learning on every level.
Life at grandma’s house was discipline in a different way. Not so many rules to follow but I was constantly being reminded to sit up straight, not to throw my leg over the arm of the living room couch, not to be loud, wash hands before eating, don’t take big helpings when there isn’t enough to go around……..it went on and on. You would think by now I’d be a refined lady but I’m just plain Esther.
Living at grandma’s was much like “Little House on the Prairie.” She lived in a small town, had a small farm and worked hard. I loved snooping in the barn, the chicken house, pig pen, the closed off rooms upstairs and the pantry. She had every manner of dishes along the wall of shelves……..I loved going in there and looking at the beautiful colors and shapes.
I learned so much from all of them. My parents, grandma and my aunts….what do kids learn these days with most of their relatives hundreds of miles away? Older people in children’s lives is so important……family values cannot be taught if you aren’t connected to the family. Older people have the advantage of experience, lots of failures they learned from and modest successes to keep them going.
I’ve been very blessed to have spent a lot of my life around aunts, uncles, cousins, mom AND dad in the same house all those years. The more people you learn from, the more perspective you have about life in general. The next time you see a senior citizen in your realm of acquaintances…….stop and say thanks. They’ve had their share of lumps and might be able to save you a few. You will always learn more from listening than from talking…………….
Until the next time, I am,
Essentially Esther
It has always been puzzling to me that Monday was to be “wash day” Tuesday was to be “ironing day” Wednesday was “mending day“ and so on down the week. I saw many tea towels embroidered with the little captions for each day of the week growing up. Now tea towels are a thing of the past…..hello to dishwashers. Laundry day is any day you have a load to do and they can be dried within 30-minutes. American women have automated magic all over the house and they can pick and choose when and what they want to do. Multi-task moms.
Sometimes I muse over my childhood…..how different it was then. I learned so much staying with my grandmother and aunts at summer vacation time. They had a different “take” on me than mom and dad……..at home there was discipline and consequences, entertaining myself. Dad worked all the time and mom worked all the time at home. They neither one had much free time until later years. I had to entertain myself because my brother was 3 ½ years older and had lots going on. I found reading to be a wonderful avenue to take me beyond my circumstances. Reading is learning on every level.
Life at grandma’s house was discipline in a different way. Not so many rules to follow but I was constantly being reminded to sit up straight, not to throw my leg over the arm of the living room couch, not to be loud, wash hands before eating, don’t take big helpings when there isn’t enough to go around……..it went on and on. You would think by now I’d be a refined lady but I’m just plain Esther.
Living at grandma’s was much like “Little House on the Prairie.” She lived in a small town, had a small farm and worked hard. I loved snooping in the barn, the chicken house, pig pen, the closed off rooms upstairs and the pantry. She had every manner of dishes along the wall of shelves……..I loved going in there and looking at the beautiful colors and shapes.
I learned so much from all of them. My parents, grandma and my aunts….what do kids learn these days with most of their relatives hundreds of miles away? Older people in children’s lives is so important……family values cannot be taught if you aren’t connected to the family. Older people have the advantage of experience, lots of failures they learned from and modest successes to keep them going.
I’ve been very blessed to have spent a lot of my life around aunts, uncles, cousins, mom AND dad in the same house all those years. The more people you learn from, the more perspective you have about life in general. The next time you see a senior citizen in your realm of acquaintances…….stop and say thanks. They’ve had their share of lumps and might be able to save you a few. You will always learn more from listening than from talking…………….
Until the next time, I am,
Essentially Esther
