Remembering The Past To Help Me Focus On The Future

Dia Duit my friends

It's morning here, not too early in the day, but everyone is still just stirring around. The TV is off and it's as quiet as it gets with four girls. It's a cleaning day. Time to get the house back into some sort of order.

I think every mother can relate to my feelings this morning...frustration, tiredness, uselessness, defeated. Didn't we just clean all this? Didn't I spend most of every day this week doing the same exact thing to the same exact stuff, saying the same exact things to the same exact kids???

There are times I just don't know what to do about it all. I feel like either throwing up my hands in defeat and just letting us live like pigs...clean pigs mind you, we're talking clutter, not filth!...or throwing everything away so there isn't anything TO clean.

I've been leaning towards the second quite a bit lately. I can't even begin to count the number of bags that have gone to the dump or the trunk loads that have already been dropped off to Goodwill. And yet.... :/ There's still more. It's as if when you remove the first layer the "stuff" starts seeping up out of the pores of the house. Like digging a hole in the sand on the side of the sea. You dig and dig, empty all the water out of it, turn around...and it's filled up with water again! A couple waves come and within seconds all that work you did just disappears.

So I decide to throw it all out. One of my favorite sayings is "If we get rid of it we never have to clean it again!" :-D And that's true! There are a lot of people who live very minimalistic lives and seem very happy in them. But I've been down this road before. I start picking up things, considering their importance and value, and then think "but what if I need this later?" :/ And thus begins digging by the side of the sea.

I can see where it's going wrong. I can see the spiral that sucks the stuff back into my house instead of allowing it to be released. But knowing that doesn't necessarily make the answer any clearer. If you believe like I do, that this country and our economy are headed for a real nose dive, that things are going to be tougher than we've seen in generations, then what to do?? My daughters have never known tough times, I never have, my parents really didn't...perhaps their parents have a clue as to what is coming.

I remember my Grammie speaking of the depression and war in Germany, where she's from. I remember her saying that they were hungry and that she will never go hungry again. Grammie always had a TON of food...her canning shelves were filled with jar after jar of produce that she and Grandpa grew. Grandpa always hunted and fished and it was put in the freezer. They had a beautiful home that Grandpa built. It was simple; it didn't have a den, or office, or family room, or formal living or dining rooms, lots of bedrooms or bathrooms. My mother and her sister even had to share a bedroom (gasp! lol). It was sturdy, it was built with quality and made to last, and it had heart shapes cut out of each window shutter <3 I loved those heart cut outs, it was a house filled with love. There was always room for family and friends. My darling husband has promised to make me those same shutters someday if God sees fit to have us own a house. Excuse me as I have a few thoughts here. Grammie lived thru hard times...really hard times...things that I can't even imagine...and things I hope she has forgotten. All of us are shaped by the things we live thru. So if I make an observation of her life after she had lived thru such hard times maybe I can learn from her what is really important and what I need to know and do now?? Sounds logical :o) Food...Grammie always had that food stored. We'd run to Zazzara's down in town for a few groceries, but I don't ever remember having buggies full of food. It always seemed to be the few things she needed to go with what she already had at home. Now maybe she did have those buggies of food before we had gotten there, but really there wasn't alot of storage for that type of thing, so I'd think I'd remember seeing it all. Grammie is an amazing cook...everything tastes better when Grammie cooks it. Our family gatherings always included lots of food...not fancy, but GOOOOOD. The same things were always cooked...I mean Thanksgiving without pumpkin, chocolate (pronounced SHocolate), and lemon meringue pie would not have been Thanksgiving at all! Decor...Grammie's house would have never made it into one of todays decorating magazines...but it was very tastefully decorated and comfortable. Things didn't change at Grammie's, hardly ever. I remember when they finally had to get new couches and new carpetting in the living room...it was just weird! The same glass dome clock sat on the fireplace mantel along with the brass eagle and candle sticks. The same lamps always sat there, the same end tables, the same coasters under the coffee table, same gold leaf dish, same bookshelf with the same picture frames filled with grandchildrens pictures (which would change as we grew), and the same corner console that held the ever important record player and radio up top and all of the records underneath. Things never changed unless they had to I guess. There was comfort in that...I always knew what to expect when I got to Grammies. If it was late at night when we arrived after our 5 hour drive there would be a pizza from the local shop in the oven that Grammie would turn on to heat up. The beds upstairs were always the same...the same pink blanket underneath the same white chenille bedspread. Why didn't they change? Was it because they didn't have money for new things? If they were poorly off we certainly had NO idea! Or was it just that Grammie had lived thru really hard times and was happy and content with what she had and felt no need to change it all the time? Maybe it was a bit of both...and maybe that is a lesson for me today! So many of the things at Grammies were handmade. I don't know if that was out of necessity or because she enjoyed it, or both. The afghan on the back of the love seat, the pillows on the couch, the doily's on the tables, the curtains in the windows. She has the skill set to be able to make a house a home. She can sew anything...really...anything. I remember her always having some needlework under the end table next to the loveseat...she was either crocheting or knitting something. Later we'd find some of those things to be dresses for us. She canned all the produce they grew. The only thing I don't remember Grammie making from scratch was bread, we did always buy that...and ice cream...but that was a Grandpa thing ;) We'd go down to Turkey Hill and get a half gallon of chocolate with the peanut butter swirl and another one of black cherry...they're still my favorites! I'm learning skills all the time, or at least I try to! I do can...I haven't braved the pressure canner yet, but I own it and will this coming year. Grammie taught me to crochet New Years 2000...I'm pretty handy at it if I do say so myself. I can knit now...not nearly as well as crochet. I've taught myself by watching videos online. I'm practicing...I have a long way to go before my needles click as fast as Grammies used to! I can sew. I have ALOT to learn there...but no one would be naked or go cold if they were dependent on my skills. I don't garden as well. Each year I try, each year I end up fustrated and wondering how Grammie and Grandpa always made it look so easy. I have a friend that is helping me now though and I'm looking forward to seeing what we can get next year. So if I try to sum up these thoughts maybe my lessons for today are 1) Food...having it stored up, and knowing how to cook simple good things from it. 2) House...simple but beautiful handmade things are best. There doesn't need to be alot, but what you have should be nice. Less is more. We don't need the latest and greatest...I'm sure there were lots of trends and new things that people just "had" to have...we were just as happy without them. 3) Know how to take care of your family and home. Have the skills so that you're not dependent on the stores and others. 4) The thing that really matter and made Grammie's house such a great place to be was being with family. Kids in the living room playing triominoes while the grown ups played pinochle. There was always a lot of laughter...some speaking in German when we weren't supposed to hear what they were saying ;) ...and lots and lots of good times. Can my kids be happy with just those things? I was. And maybe if I get rid of some of this clutter, this junk, this stuff that is sucking the life out of us, we'll have more time for those things :o) I think I'll go start cleaning...I see another trip to the dump and Goodwill happening this weekend!

This was our entertainment...boy great times when Grandpa would let us drive the lawnmower!!

Grandpa feeding my sister probably mashed potatoes with gravy.

And these were Christmas dresses that Grammie made for us. The shirt and skirt were both crocheted...I can't imagine how many hours she spent making those for us. We sure were cute though :o)