Sewing, Gardening, Cooking, Cleaning were not bad words in the lives of my Grandmas and Mom. They were beautiful, strong, independent women. Their strength of character and their strong faith defined their lives. Taking care of their families was part of their nature, and they didn’t apologize for it. They rose to each challenge in life with the beautiful grace of womanhood.

Any chore in life can become drudgery, and I’m sure there were times in their lives, as in my life, you want to say “Done”! But, goodness gracious, when I think of how easy my life is compared to my Grandparents, I put on the brakes of a bad attitude and fill thought with gratitude. Today, life seems complicated and sends us in many different directions. However, in comparison to the hard work of my Grandma’s life, my life is easy. To keep the examples of how they lived their lives in front of me balances me, and helps me gain and hold the right perspective.

My Grandma Helen would tell stories of doing ironing for people. She was so proud that she earned .10 cents per piece. Now, these were not “permanent press” shirts! These shirts would come out of the wash looking like a crumpled piece of paper! And she was not using a “steam iron”! Oh, you can bet your bottom dollar, those shirts were standing tall when she was finished. (yes probably literally also!) Do you think I can grumble about laundry? NO way!

My Grandma Essie had a lineup of tubs in her laundry room. She had a Maytag wringer washer and many tubs! A rinse tub and a bleach tub and a bluing tub and maybe a starch tub! Her wringer on the Maytag washer rotated from one tub to the next, running each piece of clothing through the wringer before going on to the next tub. Her thumbnail was off-colored because she would get her thumb caught in the wringer. Ha, I put my clothes in, push some buttons and walk off. Grandma Essie’s laundry room was also spotless at the end of her laundry day. In fact, I have her Maytag washer and one of her galvanized rinse tubs in my laundry room today. They look almost brand new. That is how they cared for and respected what they owned.

I feel blessed to walk around my home and see things that remind me of my Grandma’s. Their life was joyful, sweet, and seemed like a simpler time; however, it was full of hard work.

Now my Momma didn’t have to wring her clothes on a manual wringer from one tub to the next or do ironing for .10 cents apiece, but she worked as hard and always had a smile on her face. And Wow!, did she do her fair share of ironing and washing and sewing and gardening, raising three children, and taking care of her home. But, she accepted each task in life with a “get to it and get it done” attitude. She had a heart full of gratitude and passed on her bright and positive outlook on life to her children.

The moral strength of these very special women, I carry with me throughout my life. Their beautiful examples teach me every day. If I have been able to pass a tidbit of all I have learned on to my children, I feel blessed.