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I grew up in the sixties with practical parents -- a Mother, God love her, who knew how to make beans and taters taste so good; who worked 5 days a week and some Saturdays just to make enough to make ends meet...One who was the prettiest lady on the block!
A Father who saved money by fixing his own cars! Taught himself what he needed to know from a Big Blue Mechanic Book about cars!! I remember that book well...one who loved to grow his own vegetables in the garden and passed down that trait to every one of his children!
Their marriage was always a bit on shaky ground, dad liked to "indulge" a bit more than mom could stand, but they got by, for a while Mom wouldn't divorce dad because she had to be sure her children would be cared for.
Money was scarce, and it would be too hard for a single parent to make it alone.
I don't remember many vacations we all took together except one time we went to "Frontier City" In Oklahoma City, OK...not sure if it was a vacation or just an outing, but it was grand! We saw rides and country folk and had
ice cream and cotton candy.
I can see them now, Mom coming home from work in her Nursing uniform and Dad in his jeans and a cotton plaid shirt, with his lunch pail in hand, returning from a day at work.
There was always something that needed done or fixed and mom and dad both were "do-it-yourselfer's", and very good at it too, I must say! Very creative and loads of common sense. All us kids took after them somewhat, very creative in all sorts of ways. Something today's generation seems to be lacking in!
It was the time for fixing things -- a curtain rod, that was a piece of yarn strung tightly across the window...
the kitchen radio, dad could rewire that, the screen door, nothing to putting new screen on it, and much cheaper than buying a new one.
Always fixing things we keep. It was a way of life,and sometimes it drove me crazy. All that re-fixing, reheating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful!.....Just one time to go to school and have money to BUY lunch instead of always taking scrambled egg sandwiches. Or just once to be able to go buy school clothes for a whole week instead of two outfits that could be inter-matched with each other so you looked like you had a different outfit on each day. Little things that others so often took for granted, I felt deprived of, and wondered why we were not as well off as others?
The little boy next door on Thanksgiving that came over to play with a huge turkey leg in his hand. Chomping on it and enjoying be able to HAVE a turkey for Thanksgiving.... we had fried chicken and I wished so desperately WE could have had a turkey! Then watching the boy just give it to the dog when he had only taken a few bites of it!
But, one day, all too soon, we got news dad was ill. We sent my brother to get him. Dad looked so very sick but oh so good to see him again! He hadn't changed much, he had gotten a little older and a bit skinnier but he was still his same feisty self.... Dad passed away, one week later. At least I had gotten to say goodbye... and that helped a lot.
I never really knew dad much after my teen years, but I missed him terribly and I thought about him often. When he passed, I felt sorry for the life my dad had led, I wished it had been a better one for him. He missed so much....
Mom is still with us, sometimes she does good, other times she gets sick. She is a pain sometimes....but other times she is an angel sent from God....Yeah, all us that have taken care of her from time to time, have noticed little things about her character that are not exactly flawless....but she's still mom., and we all still Love her very much. No matter what she says or does, guess she will always be MOM. I dread the day the Lord takes her home...I will miss her so very much. Even though we have not always seen eye-to-eye on everything...she has been a good mother!
I realize there will never be 'more' parents. You only get one set of parents in a lifetime..Sometimes, what we care
about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return. Then we find ourselves wishing we'd have done this, or said that ...and it's too late! They are gone! So...while we have them with us...it's best we love them......and care for them...... and fix all the broken hearts we can.....and heal the hurt.. No one is perfect, even though we strive to be, we ALL make mistakes and we all desire forgiveness. If we CANNOT forgive, how can we expect our Savior to forgive us?
Sometimes what we care about most gets all used up, and old, or broken. This is true.....for marriage.....and old cars.....and children with bad report cards.....and dogs with bad hips.....and aging parents.....and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
Some things we keep.......Like a best friend, we moved away from, who was ALWAYS there for us--or -- a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are Special.....and
so, we keep them close! In any way we can.....because they are worth it!!!!
Treasure what you have and love it......to give your love away, is to be sure it will always come back to you!
DeAnna 10-30-2003
KEEPER'S
Best of all is it to preserve everything in a pure, still heart, and let there be for every pulse a thanksgiving, and for every breath a song.
--Konrad von Gesner
Lillian Moller Gilbreth (1878-1972), the mother of 12 children, had good reason to improve the efficiency and convenience of household items. A pioneer in ergonomics, Gilbreth patented many devices, including an electric food mixer, and the trash can with step-on lid-opener that can be found in most households today.
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