First, I hope all had a wonderful Christmas, and are looking ahead to a great 2010, Happy New Year!
This is the first day back to work for my husband, who took a vacation week off. We spent it at home, going out on a few day trips, eating out a lot, resting, and enjoying the holidays and a couple of family birthdays.
This year for the first time in a few years, I mailed Christmas Cards, including a Christmas letter that I do each year. As I do the cards, I read all the letters from past years, which brings back many fond memories…have always wished that I’d taken up journaling, but this is the next best thing.
This morning I sat down with several cards that were still sitting under the tree and hadn’t been added to the pile we’ve received by mail over the past weeks, and started reading each one. Some were to my husband, I don’t always take the opportunity to read his cards from our children, feeling at times like it’s something between the children and him, but today I did…and have to say I found myself in tears reading the wonderful things they wrote to and about him…and then reading what they wrote in my own cards. It made me appreciate my husband more, looking at him through my children’s eyes…and myself more, as I often go through the “if only” kind of thinking…if only we had done this, my son would have a great job right now, if only we had done….and the list can go on. But reading cards like the one my son wrote reminds me that we have given him the best thing he will need as he faces lifes challenges, a deep understanding of what the true meaning of CHRISTmas is all about, and the impact that can have on his life.
Then I went and gathered all of the cards received over the weeks, and put them in a basket where they stay throughout the year…all other cards received that year are added to the basket. As I was doing this, I realized I was adding to last year’s cards as well, it seems like it wasn’t all that long ago that we received last year’s Christmas cards.
Do women wear aprons anymore? I think they do, in fact, I know they do, but when I put an apron on, it doesn’t look anything like the apron’s my mother or grandmother used to wear, and doesn’t get used nearly as much. My mother always, always dressed nicely each day, wearing a dress or skirt with a sweater or blouse. It was only in the later years when teens had moved on to wearing jeans in high school that I remember my Mom finally wearing pants or slacks.
But an apron was very important if you wanted to keep your dress clean, and I suppose it still is. I read a little write up in a recent newsletter from a quilting club I belong to that was so nostalgic, and I thought I’d share it with you, it’s called “The History of Aprons”...I’ll give credit where it’s due…as soon as I find out who wrote this!
“I don’t think our kids know what an apron is. The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven. Here’s some other things Grandma’s apron was good for:
It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and somtimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‘old time apron’ that seved so many purposes.
PS - I don’t think I ever caught anything from an Apron”
Yes, this is us, the picture taken in the fall of 1978, a little over 30 years ago, so this is our 30th Valentines Day together. We went back and forth on that a bit today, me thinking it was 31 years, and he reminding me no, it was 30, as we took a quiet country drive and stopped at some spots along the way that have become part of our memories. Memories are a wonderful thing about being with the same person for so many years, you have more and more of them that bind you together if you have built a good relationship.
I got my beautiful single red rose, something hubby gives me each year, and a few other little more intimate, sweet secret things that have become special to us as a couple, those little things that are private, and bind us simply because they are nobody’s business but out own. He got his candy that he loves, and we shared time together riding, talking, stopping to eat along the way. We chose a simple place to eat, and as we went in I thought, I wonder how many others will be spending Valentines Day so simply…not trying to impress one another…just enjoying one another…as I looked around I saw many couples of all ages and of kinds. The older ones didn’t need to speak a lot, they were content just to be together. There were very young couples who didn’t know one another as well, talking, and gazing into one another’s eyes. Then there were those in between who shared their evening together with a little one, maybe they couldn’t get a babysitter. The beauty of relationship was all around.
As the years go by, my husband and I learn to treasure each other more, and to thank God for the gift of our relationship with one another.
I’ve mentioned this in a few other spots on the web, but this week, I sorted through a beautiful pile of World War II mail, letters written by a man to his wife every 2-3 days from overseas during 1943-1944. He writes from the time he leaves, to…well, I haven’t read that far yet. There are over 100 letters, so I’m looking forward to reading for a long time to come.
I have read through the first 2 months, and this man knew how to put words together so that you sensed the love he had for his wife, and he wrote in a way that made it possible to live his experiences through your imagination as he wrote them. You could sense that he wanted his wife to be experiencing what he was experiencing, and did the best he could with censorship being what it was at that time…every letter was read by and marked “censored”, and sometimes by whom.
As I read, I wondered if writing letters like this is still done…do our guys overseas long for letters as much as this man longed to receive mail, do they write home with the same passion? What about the ones that don’t have someone special in their lives, are they receiving mail? Or is it all done by email now?
There is something so personal about a hand written letter…if you love the person that wrote it, you know you are touching the same paper that their hand has touched, it is the closest thing to having something that they held recently in your hands when you can’t have that person to embrace.
I’m getting off track…like a good novel, and a very romantic one at that, I’m enjoying real stories, written by a real person, who really loved his wife back home, longed to be with her, longed to hear from her, missed her terribly, and would be apart from her longer than he expected.
My friend, the amazingly talented “Pop Art Diva“, who happens to pop in here now and then to post a comment, sent the following link along in her last newsletter, it’s great!!
View it, and if you grew up in the 40’s, 50’s, or part of the 60’s, you’ll enjoy! Sign up for the newsletter at the end to catch up with what has happened to who and more from days gone by.
Yesterday we had the family here at our home to celebrate and honor my Mother on her on her 80th birthday with food, fun and a lot of love. My brother said it best when he stated that “80 years ago today, on October 5th, 1928, the world became a better place because you were born”.
Before I get sentimental, and share some of the wonderful things about my Mom, let me share a few things things that happened the year of her birth:
March - Movie “Legion of the Condemned” with Gary Cooper opened on the 10th; there was record trading on Wall Street for the time on the 28th
May - the Electron Microscope was invented; Shakespear’s “The Tempest” opens on Broadway; General Electric starts a regular schedule of television programs out of WGY in Schenectady, NY
June - Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
July - Television sets go on sale for the first time; Warner Brothers releases the first feature length talking movie “The Lights of New York”
September - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
October - Joseph Stalin’s 5 year plan is announced; the German Graf Zeppelin dirigible comes to Lakehurst, NJ. BUT BEST EVENT OF ALL, my Mom is born.
November - Herbert Hoover is elected as President; Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willy”, the first synchronized cartoon with Mickey Mouse in the “Star” role, opens at the Colony Theatre in New York City.
December -Boulder Dam Act approved by U.S. Congress, approving the construction of the dam in Nevada.
There’s just a bit of the history of the year of her birth, but let me tell you some of the things that I remember about my Mom that make her very special to me:
She is a woman of exceptionally strong faith.
I don’t remember a night in my childhood when she didn’t come in and pray with my brothers, sister and I before we went to bed, no matter how long the day had been or how tired she was.
Mom is strong, yet gentle.
She loves to garden, and still does, and always has something starting under her special plant lights.
She had the challenge of raising a multiply-disabled son right up until a few months ago when he moved into a group home. He was born when I was 12, with a brother and sister between he and I. It took some maturing on my part, a lot of it, to realize how hard it must have been to divide her attention among all of us when she was faced with such a challenge.
It was at my bedside after going to Vacation Bible School when I was just a toddler that I prayed with my Mom to receive Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I have found that I am never too old to learn some nugget of spiritual truth from my mother.
Mom has always loved feeding birds, and has always had a feeder full of seeds…or when we were young, a tray that we would fill and lay out in the yard, and watch as Mom identified each bird. When the Grackles were migrating by the hundreds, I remember her going out once with a LOT of bread, breaking it, and throwing it, and it was gone before much of it had a chance to hit the ground. Thanks to her, I, too, always have a feeder full of seeds hanging outside.
Mom never had a drivers license, and thanks to my father’s income and careful management of money, was able to stay at home and care for her children.
During the last 5 years of my father’s life, years in which he was taken from Mom and all of us due to a series of small strokes, Mom sacrificed herself and her back bending over him to care for him; helping him to and from wheel chair to bed; taking care of his personal needs…yes, we did have help come in, but Mom did a lot. Dad passed 11 days after her birthday a few years ago…her words when I brought her into the room after he had passed (a phone call kept her from his bedside) were “my lover is gone”.
Mom loves cats, she went from a woman who shot at them with a super-soaker when they came in the yard to stalk her birds at the feeder, to the owner of a series of cats, 3 of which she has today.
Mom allowed us to explore the world around us, allowing me to keep all sorts of creatures in cages, jars and aquariums in my room as long as I took good care of them, and allowing my brother to study creatures smaller than the eye can see at a young age through a microscope, which I am sure is the foundation for his being the Scientist he is today.
I could go on and on, she deserves so many accolades, and I don’t know how to put my love for her into words. She is a treasure beyond words! I love you, Mom.
There’s a fun group of woman that I belong to called “Baby Boomer Diva Nation” started by Beverly Mahone, and this past week, some of the divas were sharing their favorite TV shows! Here’s some of the discussion…see how many memories it triggers for you! Comment with a few TV memories of your own if you like:
Debbie Marmino: Let’s play a little game: Since we are all Baby Boomers, reach back into the archives of your mind, and tell me which “OLD TV SHOWS” used to be your favorites! Mine were I Love Lucy and Petticoat Junction! I wanted to grow up and be just like those 3 beauties, Billie Jo, Bobbi Jo and Betty Jo!
Debbie Stevens: LOVED Petticoat Junction and the song! My old fav’s were “IDream of Jeannie” [was madly in love with Major Nelson, long before he became JR! Lol] Green Acres, Bewitched[with the first Derwood OOPS Darren! Lol ] And my sister and I always cried watching “The Little Hobo” [dog] “Gilligan’s Island”
Pam Archer: I Love Lucy, Little Rascals, Rin Tin Tin, Gunsmoke, Howdy Doody…guess I’m a bit older than you young things!
Beverly Mahone: I loved BEWITCHED, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, My Mother the Car, Julia, My Favorite Martian and the Peyton Place series.
Debbie Mormino: I remember Gunsmoke very well! (and Rawhide, too, Clint Eastwood was so young and handsome!) Remember when it was a bit risque’ for Jeanie to show her belly button!
My mom used to make me go to bed before Peyton Place came on!! We lived in a shotgun house in New Orleans, and the houses were very close together. My mom would watch Peyton Place, and our neighbor would too. I’d hear it from my mom’s room, and watch it from my bedroom window through my neighbors window! Since we didn’t have air conditioning back then, we’d have our windows open; it was the only positive thing about no a/c! Great memories!
Karlyn: I’m still a huge I Love Lucy fan, she was phenomenal. I grew up on those reruns, and some of my favorite childhood shows were also Little House on the Prairie (I wanted to be Laura Ingalls) and Brady Bunch. I still have a little crush on Christopher Knight (played Peter Brady). hehe..
Debbie Mormino: We were all so lucky to have so many great shows when we were kids and growing up! I also loved Happy Days and that whole genre of 50’s music, since my parents were big fans also!
Heidi Caswell- One of the earliest show I remember watching was the Lone Ranger, and my parents loved Bonanza, then I Dream of Jeanie and Bewitched. Then my older brother’s got Beatle wigs and dressed up for Halloween.
Debbie Mormino - Yeah, Lil Joe on Bonanza was a beautiful boy! And do you remember the BIG VALLEY? Linda Evans was so gorgeous and HEATH was a dream!
Terri - I always loved “Father Knows Best” because it was a mirror of my family - I was the “Kathy? Kitten” in our family. Others I liked were “Dr. Kildare” - Richard Chamberlain, yum…, “Adventures in Paraside” - I used to kiss the screen when Gardner MacKay got a close up! I’ve posted often about retro tv on my PopArtDiva blog - you can use the search bar to find the posts, the latest post is on the Mickey Mouse Club! I have just about every classic television show theme on my computer, including some really obscure ones and some really fun ones like Andy Griffith singing the theme to The Andy Griffith Show, Lorne Greene singing (holy cow) the theme to Bonanza and Richard (my love) singing the theme to Dr. Kildare - Three Stars Will Shine Tonight. I’m not too obsessed with retro and television and I???
Debbie Marmino - I vaguely remember Father Knows Best, and Dr Kildare’s name is familiar to me but I don’t remember any episodes of his show and I’m not familiar with Adventures in Paradise at all!!
Me: Oh, what about Leave it to Beaver, Sky King, The Odd Couple, Bachelor’s Father….I even remember the Honeymooners….but I was REALLY young when that was on (right!)
Okay there’s a stroll down TV Memory Lane, and there’s lots of shows missing!
Yes, this is us, the picture taken in the fall of 1978, a little over 30 years ago, so this is our 30th Valentines Day together. We went back and forth on that a bit today, me thinking it was 31 years, and he reminding me no, it was 30, as we took a quiet country drive and stopped at some spots along the way that have become part of our memories. Memories are a wonderful thing about being with the same person for so many years, you have more and more of them that bind you together if you have built a good relationship. 
I’ve mentioned this in a few other spots on the web, but this week, I sorted through a beautiful pile of