For those who one day realize that much of our modern world is artificial…
I came across this from an unknown author, and thought it to be insightful and ‘grounding’ as we make our way through our apparent busy day-to-day lives…
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I grew up with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it… A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.
Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away..
I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things.. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.
It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy.. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there’d always be more.
But then my mother died, and on that clear summer’s night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn’t any more.
Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away…never to return.. So… while we have it….. it’s best we love it…. and care for it… and fix it when it’s broken……… and heal it when it’s sick.
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 that moved away 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.
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The relevance of this writing and this website is this… While many preppers have the mindset of individuality, self-reliance, preps, and hunkering down… and while these are all helpful and admirable survival traits, lets not lose site of the fact that it is also much to do with… people.
Yes.
Well said
Very good.Bpr,kypd.
Great article. A good reminder about priorities. Thank you
Sounds like me growing up. We ate from the wood, creek, lakes and swamps. My mom made everything we wore except for out dollar general plastic shoes and out underwear. We never had a lot but we had a roof and a bed. I still remember the smells of my moms cooking… Yes we use a lot of things and disregard them but our memories of things past never get used up. I hope that when my child is old she will have fond memories of her childhood and realize that everyone you meet in life no matter who they are to be treated with kindness and respect and hopefully it will be returned to you in kind.
Wow Ken, did that bring back memories. Growing up we kids didn’t know what a paper towel was, my parents didn’t believe in throwing anything away. I still remember helping my mother iron hankercheifs. Bed sheets were white and they lasted at least ten years before they were repurposed into ghost costumes for halloweeen or cut down and sewn into pillow cases, then rags. Everything was reused (except toilet paper). We even had to bring our brown paper bags home from school to be used for lunch again and again until they were too worn to hold together, then they were used to start the fire in the fireplace. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I must agree, can, you brought back such great childhood memories. my mom and dad grew up during the Depression everything was reused. I remember my mom’s leftover meals I look forward to cause they were better than the 1st. the victory garden, the going fishing for free fish, n going to the ” u pick farms” for items we fish’t raise. Tough but sweet times. Thanks Nun n Dad, u made me able to survive in a soon to b tough time. God has given me the right parents to give me the skills to help my kids n grandkids make it thru this, just like Mom n Dad n Grandma did for me…
I grew up with practical parents. A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen before they had a name for it. Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep. It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there’d always be more. But then my mother died, and on that clear summer’s night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn’t any more. Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes… Read more »