Friday, March 16, 2012

a little color for a misty March day

The kids have the day off from school,  it is a lazy day to say the least.  A day in which a nap is inevitable. The younger ones and I were nestled under my favorite red plaid blanket reading books, when unbeknownst to me I woke with a stack of Berenstain Bear books aside my face and no children to be seen.   These children must be getting tired of their  mother.  Do they remember me when I was a bit-o-fun? When I splendored in glitter crafts and paint?  When I didn’t hobble around like an old lady in a ski accident?

Anyhow whenever I feel worn out I always revert back to the days of yore and what all the women before me went through.  They had so much everyday work just for regular meals and clean clothes. Often I look through the ephemera saved by my great-grandmother and it never fails to inspire me.  She went through so much in her life but still managed to find beauty everywhere.

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These images are from her scrapbook from 1900-1915. 

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Now I feel like I have the energy to put the clothes in the dryer, start the dishwasher and listen to it whir and rattle as it cleans my dishes.  And maybe if I’m really ambitious I will send a note to my husband at work and ask him to bring home pizza for dinner. Being a spoiled modern housewife is such hard work!

5 comments:

Emily said...

I think about stuff like that all the time too. I justify my attitude by saying "but it's all they knew and were used to it" :) Enjoy your lazy day!

Unknown said...

I love modern cooking, don't you! Those women in the olden times weren't expected to run hither and yon for activities and functions and such either.

Sunny Simple Life said...

This is so sweet. We are lucky to have all the modern conveniences for sure.

Anonymous said...

Is that a picture of her? What a lovely woman!

Yes, those women were something. My grandmother (born 1883), took care of me while my mother worked. We didn't have a washing machine. She washed my diapers in a metal washtub, wrung them out by hand, and hung them up to dry (she was in her late sixties at the time!).

Hope your feeling like your old self soon.

Kathy in Virginia

Andi said...

What fun! Obviously the love for simple beauty has been passed down!