Am I the only person who is confused about whether our recession has come or gone? The paper and the TV news offer little encouragement but it does encourage me to think more about smart spending and savvy saving and reminds me of stories my mother told.
My mother said they didn’t realize they were poor because my grandparents were creative and never forgot how to have fun: day-long Christmas tree decorating, my grandfather’s Spanish omelet that made weekend mornings an occasion, singing with “Puddy” (the family’s black Lab), playing with the chickens.
I always liked the story about my grandmother’s chicken project. She decided to raise the birds so the family diet would have more protein, but it didn’t work as she had planned. My mother and uncle named all of the chickens and and they became pets. When “Charlie” and others were served up on the dinner table, the kids cried and refused to eat their baked or fried pets. Actually, I don’t remember hearing what happened to the little poultry souls since food wasn’t thrown away so casually in those days. Mammaw was a great cook, so I’m thinking she may have disguised the departed friends in a soup, stew or casserole type dish.
One of my favorites: Mom and her friends would have a dance – at home. In those days the floors were wood, so they would roll up the rug. Remember this was before wall-to-wall carpet. The kids would all combine their money to buy an ice sculpture which at that time was inexpensive, make punch, turn on the radio and dance the night away. I didn’t understand how an ice sculpture worked with punch, but the story sounded good and I never questioned the combination.
Even my great-grandmother might be at the party. She was an invalid from rheumatoid arthritis, but she followed the beat of music with one finger and the next morning would happily say that she had danced too much the night before.
I can still imagine the smiles around the room, hear the music, and feel what we now call energy as young and old enjoyed each other’s company and had fun without a credit card balance to pay the following month.
Becky Hopkins, Realtor®, SRES, GRI
CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Company
Serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
http://www.50andholding.info
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