Saturday, October 20, 2007

RubberStampMadness/childhood




Made it into the latest issue of RSM. Look at that cover. How do those cover artists come up with this stuff? That's all stamping!
That story at the end of the article takes me back a few years to a different way of life. My childhood was a little different than most. We were by today's standards considered to be low income/poor. My parents had me young. My Mom was the ripe old age of 19. They started a life with nothing and a colicky kid to raise. We may not have had an excess of money but I wouldn't trade it for the world. We raised all our own vegetables. My Dad worked a difficult manual labor job all day and came home to spend the evening tending to a garden and mowing grass. We never spent an evening indoors in the summer. We socialized with the neighbors each and every night because we were all outside. We had 2 TV stations. I think this is why I can read so fast. Books replaced TV. lol. We lived in trailer which my Mom kept so clean you could've literally ate off the floor at any time. We took our laundry to "town" once a week to the laundry mat. Santa coming was a huge deal because toys weren't casually purchased weekly as it goes today (incidentally-- I was sick every Christmas. I swear it was due to excitement). We ate dinner as a family EVERY night. We appreciated everything more. Kinda sad the direction society is going in these days. Such hustle and bustle and inattention to what is really important.
Ohhh, gotta tell ya about the laundry mat---well, that was my first brush with the Hare Krishna community. The Krishnas were big in our area back then. The temple was being built and they had visitors from all over. They were in full swing. They would come to the laundry mat in their vans in full garb. White sheets, bald head, pony tail--the works. Now you can imagine as a kid whose highlight of the laundry trip was Welch's grape soda and corn chips this scene was quite fascinating. My Mom would tell me not to stare. Come on---how could I not??? Was nothing to see them chanting outside the Kroger store. They were also always at the tail end of the Christmas parade. I remember them parading their elephant past our junior high school and throwing candy at the windows to the kids. Recruiting I guess. I wonder what it's like up there now. You don't hear much about them anymore. Not judging a different way of life or anything--how people live is their personal business--- but they sure did stick out in good old Marshall county where different is not always tolerated.
Enough about the ole days. Life sure has changed. I'm just not so sure it's changed for the better. Do you eat dinner with your family each night and actually TALK to one another?






8 comments:

Sue McGettigan said...

I miss those family dinner/less TV/working in the garden days myself Michelle - but feel so lucky that it was part of my youth. We don't tend to have family dinners, at least not every night, meals are an issue since DH's illness. The time I feel we connect the best is when we take a walk together, I love to be outdoors, and it automatically means no TV/computer/phone/video games, KWIM?

Sue McGettigan said...

P.S. Congrats on the pub! I love that card :)

jen duncan said...

Well, Melissa and the boys are on their way over for Sunday supper and yeah; I reckon we'll talk to each other. ;-) Of course, if we were together every night it might very well be a different story!
Big congrats on being pubbed again! You're on a roll!

Tracy said...

hare krishnas - wow - now theres a little blast from the past.
Dinner - yup pretty much every night.(barring the occasional play practice or some school obligation) - we're boring. we had a friend of e's over last week and she scarfed up dinner saying they didnt have a sit down dinner often. made me a little sad.
oh and congrats on the publication. most cool

Babsarella said...

Congrats on your card being in RSM!!! Love the great stamp selection!!! Sit down dinner???? Well, usually just me and Miss B, since Mark gets home too late. Sometimes there is studying or reviewing for a test going on, or we watch a show, sometimes we talk.
Sad but true, we most often eat all together when we go out somewhere.

Kerilou said...

First of all, the layout is beautiful. That pink is so pretty! I can't believe little miss T is so grown up already! Congrats on the publication, too!!
I loved hearing you talk about being a kid and how you grew up. We have talked about this before, and how we grew up very much the same way. I would not trade it for the world!
We do eat dinner together as a family-usually in front of the TV, but it is always together and we have fun and visit and watch something we all enjoy on TV. Better than most, I would say! Especially now that hunting season has started!! Keri

Lisa Renéa said...

Congrats on the pub! It's really great!! Loved your story about your youth, (we have so much in common)
Thanks for sharing!

Donna Layton said...

Yes....things have changed so much. We usually eat dinner at the table if we eat at home. We eat out a lot and do share the same table at restaurants! This world just doesn't compare in any way to the world we all grew up in. Makes me sad. We are fortunate that we all four love doing things as a family and spend a lot of time together.
My first encounter with the Krishnas was at an airport. They called out to me and I didn't want to be rude so I engaged them....all while my friend was trying to get me away from them. He still gives me grief over that. Are they still around??