I burst with pride and overflowing gratitude when I think of both of my Grandmas and the wisdom they handed down. These women were born and raised in Oklahoma. Both lived through The Great Depression, both lived through the The Dust Bowl, both lived during both World Wars. So both were raised through times that strengthened their character and developed virtues that created a standard that was raised high for us all to see and follow!
My Grandma Helen was considered a city girl. My Grandma Essie was considered a country girl. But both lived their lives with care and remembrance of the hard times. Both had gardens, because that is what you did. Both canned vegetables and fruit from those gardens because you preserved your bounty. And BOTH hung their clothes on an Oklahoma clothesline!
I recall Grandma Essie using a Maytag wringer washer for most of her life (which I have today). Yes in 1970, she was still using a Maytag ringer washer and a rinse tub! Grandma Helen took her laundry to a laundry mat. And both of these hard working ladies had clotheslines that seem to stand proudly in their backyards. This tickled me about Grandma Helen, when I was old enough to know what was going on. On her laundry days when she was at the laundromat with dryers right there, she would, instead of using the dryers, head home with wet laundry to hang out on her clothesline. Wouldn’t make sense to waste the precious electricity that they weren’t fortunate enough to have their whole lives.
On one of those surprising warm days we sometimes get here in Oklahoma in January or February, the phone would ring and Grandma Helen would say, “Jennie, do you have your clothes hangin’ out on the line? It is a warm day today.” “Grandma, I don’t have a clothesline yet at this house. But I will get one.” When my husband came home from work that day, I had a clothesline put up between two trees with a load of clothes waving in the breeze. We’re not talkin’ l950, we’re talkin’ 1985! “Why use your dryer when you can save electricity?” That is what she always said.
The wisdom of my Grandmas was save when you can and save when you can’t. Never waste a moment, they are too precious and there is too much to do. Be grateful for all you have because richness is all around you. Life is not easy, but it wasn’t meant to be. What is new and fancy is nice, but what is tried and true is dependable.