Be The Example Number Two

I originally posted this post on June 1, 2021 but I unpublished it after only leaving it up for a few hours.  I felt it was too long and and I felt it had too much of me in this post.  

The past couple of years I am guilty of letting my thoughts measure good and bad by what I have read in the news. I have tried to not let it affect me but occasionally it leaks out.

I had to take some time to pray about this and refocus and keep my perspective of why I am doing this blog.  That is to share what I can remember of the past and what we have studied in our history research of the past because I feel it is important.

I have brought this post back because someone that read it told me that it helped her and I keep getting that God nudge to write it like I am suppose to.  So I have written this over three times before reposting and titled it Be The Example Number two.  I am going to let this one stay. So if you did read it during the short time it was up, the pictures are the same and a little of the writing is still here but it is shorter and many of the words have changed. 

This photo above is the house where I was born.  It was a new home built in the middle of a strawberry field. 

Some of the pictures in this post I have shown before in other posts but many people have not read those posts or seen the pictures before and the older photos speak so many words and are worth repeating.

This is before television, before electronics as we know them today. It was much more quiet than the world we live in today.

I miss the time of when life was simple, I miss my family members that were born before electricity and running water.  They made such an impact in my life and their manners and politeness are very much missed.

In the past, we heard a lot of yes Sir, yes Ma'am, No Sir, No Ma'am, Please and Thank You. Now we hear no or nope or yeah.  I am so happy when our Grandson Sean visits for many reasons but one of them is because he has not lost his politeness. He is an adult and works for the railroad and he still continues to say the words Ma'am or Sir when answering with a yes or no. 

It changes people around you when you use polite words, it sets a better tone and as an older person and I still do my best to use these words.

My Grandmother and Auntie.

We have one big problem today, nobody wants to be told what to do.  I am not sure how to fix this problem but I have my thoughts.  Is it the one that does not want to be told what to do or is it the one that tells someone what to do? 

It is easy to blame the one that is reluctant to be told what to do but our tone, our gestures or manner is very important in how we tell someone what to do. We can tell someone what to do in a manner that is not offensive. A respectable person would know how to ask or tell someone what to do.

There are probably a lot of people that do not like to be told what to do walking around very defensive and maybe for good reason. It would be helpful for the one that is telling to either do a better job at the way they tell people what to do or find out what is the real problem with the one that does not want to do it. 

If we do not take the time to engage with people with kindness we will continue to grow hate.  

We should start a revolution of being polite. Open a door for someone, a smile, a kindness nod, give someone space.  If someone says something offensive or rude to us, look them in the eyes with a kindness look and turn and calmly walk away.  Think about this, that person with the intent to offend is left standing there. They wanted a war and you just gave them cookies. 

A visit with Uncle Hank....

Long ago people seemed to be more focused and present humans. 

Have you ever conversed with someone that is quite elderly and listened to them when they speak of the past?  The details they have are so clear.  They remember so many details and that is because they were fully present.  They did not have the distractions that we have today.

I feel we are missing many important parts in this life and we need a slower pace and less noise to be able to notice these important things that may be very small or quiet and if we are not fully present we may miss it.  

We have the power to make change right from the beginning. My mother is looking at my brother and my brother is looking at my mother. My father is taking a picture.  My mother is not taking a selfie of her and baby to show instantly to friends. She is present, this is what it looks like.  

There is no television on because there was no television.  There are no electronics because there were none other than a radio.  This is what the past looked like. Most likely there was the ticking of a clock in the distance a telephone sitting on a table or hanging on a wall. Maybe something simmering on the stove, the sounds of home.

There were no disposables with a baby during this time.  Life was simple and babies had time to focus and learn skills in a much less hectic way as many of them do today. I have experienced this during the generations from me being a child to me having babies to my children having babies and my grandchildren having babies.  A lot has changed from the way babies births are handled, the way diapers and clothing changed.  The way toys and baby items changed.

In the past a baby was a lot of work as it is today but it seemed so very different and better.

Today so much is promoted easier, is it really?

So very different....

In the past cameras were very different and so there are not a lot of indoor pictures because a camera needed a flash.  There were different kinds of flash for cameras and when the flash bulb became available they had to be used sparingly because they were a one time flash and then replace. This is why we do not see many good indoor pictures of homes of long ago.  This photo is from my Grandmothers home when I was a child and there are a lot of things from today you will not see in this house because they did not exist.

This is Charles Father.

Oh my have sports changed today, I feel the past had to be better than what it has become today. 

Many years ago my father had this wedding photo of his parents colorized. They were born in the late 1800's.

I think of how different life was like for them. I never look at the past as a "poor" time or how hard life was and I don't find that in my research. When you have never had what you never had you just live with what you have. I have actually been surprised at how well people did and In my diaries they have shown me this over and over.  

Sadly my Grandfather died during the 1918 Flu pandemic as so many people did during this time.  He was a lumberjack and he was young and strong and during this time he was in the military because of World War 1 and died from the flu just before the war ended. 

My Father grew up without his father.  My Grandmother had two small children and later remarried and had two more children. They were a close family.

Our families from the past went through many trials with war, pandemic, recessions, great depression, another war and yet they were strong and kept their values. They were what we would consider frugal because they had the experience of having very little and never wasting anything. 

I know there was a closeness and I know they were polite because I knew them. I sat and talked with them, I spent time in their homes,  I hugged them, I miss their voices and especially laughter or chuckles. I did not ever get to meet my Grandfather on my fathers side but I feel he was just like the others. 

My family, grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins were not quarreling folks, everyone helped one another, nobody helped another for pay, it was just how we did it. I cannot remember a single argument among any of us, we all just got together and there was laughter and stories and cooking and fishing and picking berries together.  There was a lot of respect in the past and I am thankful that I lived during this time and also my children lived during this what I would call a better time.  

It can start at home no matter where we are in our life, young or old. We can make changes one home at a time, one person at a time and we should never stop trying. 

It does not matter what we have done up to now, it is all about what we do from today.  

Some people have made changes to live a more simple life, a life without debt and the worries that come with debt. Simple home cooked meals, a house that turned into a home.  This is what we have done and still working on it.  Below is a link to a very good channel that I follow that I would like to share with you. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EjeUScHs0c

Grandma Donna