Sunday, February 12, 2017
I just assumed every family was like mine
I guess I am like everyone else in that I assumed that every family was just like mine growing up, but I was wrong.
I watched and learned when I did not even know I was learning a thing. When I was really small I watched Mom, Opal Wanetta Olson (Lane)), iron every shirt and every pair of pants and even the sheets on the bed and she did it with Niagara Spray Starch in the green can when things got a little more modern. Before that she would mix her own starch and somehow shake it out of a bottle. She cooked every meal from scratch and not because there were mixes or shortcuts but because that is the only choice she had. Every house had a giant flour bin because every decent cook bought flour in huge sacks, not small small paper bags. In fact those flower sacks were about 20 pounds and the sacks were saved to make clothes.
So what did I learn from watching Mom do all that cooking and ironing, she loved her family. She was dedicated to doing the right thing and she loved my dad. She must have because he wore those ironed clothes out to feed the cattle and in about 20 minutes those clothes were getting dirty and no one was there to judge how he looked. Kind of interesting, wouldn't you say?
She cooked a big breakfast everyday unless you just told her you wanted cereal. She made home made bread every week and served it at every meal. Again, what was I learning as I watched these actions? Family was important, be dependable, be organized, clean up afterwords, help without asking and the list goes on and on with what you can learn without saying a word.
I don't recall if Mom every said "I love you" to my dad with her voice but she said it every day with her actions. Now I want to make it real clear that it is important to tell people you love with your voice and your actions but Mom seemed to do it rather well with her actions.
I never knew I was learning my values and views of the world through them when I was growing up but later it was pretty obvious and of course for those reading my blogs you should have picked up on this.
Mom was more social than Dad and therefore we played a lot of card games and board games as a family and with friends and neighbors. It was very competitive around our house. Dad was not as competitive but would always support and laugh. His laugh was a genuine laugh of observation. He hardly ever tried to be funny but he was in that he came up with witty statements often. One of my favorites was he would say, "I saved your life. I killed a shit eating mouse.". I do hope you got the joke there.
So what do you learn in the Osage?
I watched and learned when I did not even know I was learning a thing. When I was really small I watched Mom, Opal Wanetta Olson (Lane)), iron every shirt and every pair of pants and even the sheets on the bed and she did it with Niagara Spray Starch in the green can when things got a little more modern. Before that she would mix her own starch and somehow shake it out of a bottle. She cooked every meal from scratch and not because there were mixes or shortcuts but because that is the only choice she had. Every house had a giant flour bin because every decent cook bought flour in huge sacks, not small small paper bags. In fact those flower sacks were about 20 pounds and the sacks were saved to make clothes.
So what did I learn from watching Mom do all that cooking and ironing, she loved her family. She was dedicated to doing the right thing and she loved my dad. She must have because he wore those ironed clothes out to feed the cattle and in about 20 minutes those clothes were getting dirty and no one was there to judge how he looked. Kind of interesting, wouldn't you say?
She cooked a big breakfast everyday unless you just told her you wanted cereal. She made home made bread every week and served it at every meal. Again, what was I learning as I watched these actions? Family was important, be dependable, be organized, clean up afterwords, help without asking and the list goes on and on with what you can learn without saying a word.
I don't recall if Mom every said "I love you" to my dad with her voice but she said it every day with her actions. Now I want to make it real clear that it is important to tell people you love with your voice and your actions but Mom seemed to do it rather well with her actions.
I never knew I was learning my values and views of the world through them when I was growing up but later it was pretty obvious and of course for those reading my blogs you should have picked up on this.
Mom was more social than Dad and therefore we played a lot of card games and board games as a family and with friends and neighbors. It was very competitive around our house. Dad was not as competitive but would always support and laugh. His laugh was a genuine laugh of observation. He hardly ever tried to be funny but he was in that he came up with witty statements often. One of my favorites was he would say, "I saved your life. I killed a shit eating mouse.". I do hope you got the joke there.
So what do you learn in the Osage?
- Normal is what you grow up with, cause there ain't no normal
- Good or bad, we all learn every day and every hour about others but most importantly about ourselves.
- Remember someone is learning every day from you so be your best
Thanks for listening,
gary@thepioneerman.com
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