What is this? I have another Mom story to tell, but let me preface it with this. Everything is downsized today. One pound of bacon has been downsized to 12 ounces. Tyson chicken went from 5 lbs to 4 lbs for the same price. And, this is the part to remember, a square of paper towel is now half the size it used to be.
As we sat down to dinner the other day, my mother noticed I forgot to put down napkins. Being the independent soul that she is, she jumped up to get us some. She didn’t go to the drawer where I keep the cloth napkins, which is what I expected. To her, paper products are a waste. (I grew up with hankies, never something that would be thrown away.) She didn’t go to the pantry where I have the paper napkins. She walked across the kitchen to the place where I keep paper towels and carefully tore off one. She then ripped that in half and then in half again. Proudly she came back to the table and placed a postage-stamp size square beside each of our plates. I giggled to myself. The diminutive piece of paper barely covered my mouth and we were having spaghetti for dinner! There are some things about us that we can never change.
This made me think about Dr. Morris Massey. We studied this great sociologist when I was in college. As I remember, he says that we are not born with our values but they are developed during specific periods in our early years. I thought about my mother. She grew up during the depression. She lived in Kentucky and was the oldest of nine children. They lived on a farm and they ate what they produced. She didn’t know about Social Security, or welfare, or Medicare. Back then, you took care of your own. You helped your neighbor. I swear, before she came to live with me, my mother saved every zip lock bag and piece of aluminum foil that she came across. My mother, bless her heart, is and will forever be a person who scrimps, does without, is frugal and saves for a rainy day. She believes in waste not want not. That is the reason I will NEVER let her see my stash of quilting fabric!
I thought about myself and what makes me who I am. I grew up during WWII when we had ration stamps, we took items to school for the Red Cross boxes going overseas, we had air raids, we thought that having a job was the most important thing in the world and when you got that job you stayed with that company forever. I think that was why it was so difficult for me to even think about building a stash. When I grew up I sewed my clothes and I NEVER purchased fabric unless it was for a specific item, which I would promptly make. Building a stash was difficult for me. I think that’s why I love what I call “making fabric,” because it allows me to use up the smallest piece of fabric and avoid throwing it away. I am my mother’s child.
All this has made me wonder what my great grandchild will grow up to value. He is two years old now. Has every thing he could possibly want. His parents both work and he goes to Day Care. At two, he knows how to work the TV, DVD, and phone. He lives in a world of terrorism. He won’t be able to play kick-the-can until after dark and run through neighbor’s yards to play hide and seek. He probably won’t even know his neighbor’s names. What will he be like as an adult? What will he value?
What do you think? Do you ever wonder about such things?
On another note, check out Em Celebrates today. She has some updates on her Cat quilt that I previously blogged about here.
Quilter’s Cashe has a Silly Chicken Block that is so cute. Check it out.
PS: Suddenly all those blogs I follow are not there. I have no idea what is happening. I know others are having the same problem. Sorry. I hope Blogger gets this fixed soon!
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Until next time,
Caroll
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