An Old-fashioned World

As I sit here this morning at my little tea cart - turned desk, typing this post, I'm struck by the quiet. There would normally be a bustle of activity outside my window, but traffic at the three-way stop just outside our casita has come to a virtual halt. Without the cars and the city trucks adding to the ebb and flow symphony of rumbles and squealing brakes that usually occurs, I'm hearing a much different kind of music... bird songs. Mourning doves are cooing, and the mockingbirds are in full throat, belting out any call that fancies them. It's different. It's nice.

The pace of life for many of us has changed. For some, it has accelerated. There are those who are likely feeling even more stressed due to the demands of working from home while caring for children and schooling them, all at the same time. Some, like heath care workers and first responders, are putting in crazy hours, all while voluntarily continuing in harm's way. Life has jettisoned them into a kind of free-fall high gear, but for people like me, these days are different. They feel so much more nostalgic. Have any of you been feeling that way too? I guess it's all the "sheltering-in-place" that's doing it, but time seems to have turned backwards in some ways... at least for some of us... in certain respects.

All this has me thinking much more about the older generation lately. I'm trying to remember what life was like for my grandparents and great-grandparents. I'm not talking about their having to deal with the devastation of the Great Depression or the horrific years of WWII. Those were parts of the "...Old Days" that weren't so "Good." No, I'm talking about the day-to-day activites that made up their normal routines. I seem, these days, somehow keenly connected to their way of life... to a time that was, for lack of a better word, simpler...less hectic. It's as if I have ventured into an old-fashioned world for a small taste of what life used to be like.

Yesterday, for example, I was hanging my sheets and linens out to dry on the clothesine in the backyard. It was the perfect day for it, warm and breezy. It's a chore I've come to love because it's the way my mother and my grandmother did their drying. I love it not only because it's good exercise, it helps to cool the yard on a hot day, and it saves electricity, but also because there's nothing quite like sleeping on fresh laundered sheets, crisp and clean and smelling of fresh air and sunshine! Told you I was nostalgic. This was one of those weekly chores that was simply matter-of-fact for the older generation. Neither my mother nor my grandmother ever had a dryer. EVER. Laundry had its own dedicated day, and came with all kinds of cool implements like coke bottle sprinklers, washing boards, and galvanized tubs.

My grandmother had a beast of a washing machine on her screened porch. It was barrel-shaped and sat on legs with little wheels at the feet. It was impressive, let me tell you. But the best part of that old machine was the attached roller bar on top with a crank handle. Getting to help her with wringing out the clothes on that baby was nothing short of pure awesomeness! It was at least tentamount to getting to rollerskate on my Nana's back patio. I never minded helping with the laundry. It always meant getting to hang the clothes out with those cute, little clothespins that nestled in a "baby-dress" looking clothespin keeper that hung from the line.

Speaking of "dedicated days," that was the way food was shopped for too. My grandmothers would "borrow the car" one day each week to get their grocery shopping done. They were careful to make out their lists properly, including everything needed, because if they forgot an item, it'd be a full week before they could get back by to purchase it. Can anybody relate?! I think these trips must have doubled as a kind of social hour for them as well, because during the times I went along, I would see my grandmothers stop to visit with neighbors and friends and catch up on the latest "news" while there.

Both my grandmothers cooked and baked from scratch. The meals weren't fancy, but boy, were they good! They made the most amazing comfort food with nothing but the basics... flour, sugar, eggs, milk, carrots, potatoes, onions. Forget those fancy, shmancy spices... salt and pepper reigned supreme, and if there were ever a need for herbs like rosemary or mint for chicken or such, they'd grab a pair of scissors and snip some fresh from the little plot of dirt outside the back door. One of my grandmothers made salad dressing from a mixture of Miracle Whip and mustard with a little salt and pickle juice thrown in. These gals were resourceful! I'm finding my creativity in the kitchen these days has ramped up as well. I also think twice before deciding to throw out any left-overs, heeding their advice to "Waste not. Want not." It's a good way to be.

When I was growing up, my mom worked outside the home from time to time. As a result, I spent lots of summers at my Nana and Grandad's house. The things I did there to pass the time are not unlike the things kids are doing today to get creative with the extra free time on their hands. My grandad was all about the education. He's the one who taught me how to play the trumpet when I got a bit older. Though he wasn't a professional educator, he valued learning, and he saw to it that my summers weren't just all fun and games. I remember the time he wanted me to learn the states and capitals. He'd drill me from his semi-permanent spot at the kitchen table while I hit up this old stationary bike on the back porch. He'd call out "Washington," and I'd reply, "Olympia!" "Kentucky?" "Frankfort!" This went on until I missed one, at which time he'd take out a map of the United States, point to it, and say, "Study some more." Ugh. I hated that back then. Now I treasure the memories, and I'm pretty much a whizz at state capitals too. I have hime to thank for that.

While my grandad was all about the learning, my nana was all about the fun. She'd come up with all sorts of cool ideas and activities for me to do. My favorite was making paper dolls. These weren't your average, every-day, store-bought paper dools, no sir. These were special. These were the D-I-Y kind... the best kind. She'd hand me some cardboard, some newspaper advertisements, scissors, and colors. I'd cut out a doll's shape from the cardboard and then proceed to find clothing store advertisements of dresses. When I found some I liked, I'd carefully cut them out, adding those little square tabs for folding over the cardboard figure... two on top, two on each side. Then I'd go about decorating them with my crayons. Sometimes my grandmother would even let me have a little piece of fringe or some "baby" buttons I could add to jazz them up. I spent many happy afternoons playing with those paper dolls. It just goes to show you, creativity thrives in a vacuum.

There are so many other memories that have come flooding back of late. There are more than the time and the format here will allow me to share. What they all have in common is thier old-fashioned values and ingenuity. It seems we're all doing the best we can with what we have these days, with our food, our time, our resources. I'm not sure that's such a bad thing. It's both terrible and tragic that such an appreciation for these newfound "old" things has come at the expense of a worldwide pandemic. I hope we never have to experience anything remotely like this again. That being said, I think this time has given us all an opportunity to pause, to focus on the things in life that are truly meaningful. It's as if we have hit a "reset" button on all the busy-ness. These current days have provided an opportunity to look at each and every thing that has cluttered our lives in the past and sift through all the unnecessary. The chaff has been cleared away. We are left with the golden kernels.

Life is looking much different these days. Have you noticed it too? Families are spending more time together, sitting down to home-cooked meals, playing board games, going on bike rides. Conversation is happening with neighbors, friends, family members... over the fence, the phone, the computer. People are reading books and playing instruments, pursuing hobbies, working in the garden, cooking together... reconnecting. Families and individuals are worshiping together, being truly grateful for the words of grace and hope that are spilling out into the airwaves, the radios, the televisions, the internet. In this time of isolation we are finding community. That is the most old-fashioned thing to come out of all this.

There have been many words of encouragement and wisdom I have come across lately from a number of places including facebook posts, blogs and instagram accounts. There is a collective longing out there for "good" to be left standing when this is over. If we could keep the precious lessons we have learned and move forward with renewed conviction, it is possible we could be better off than we were before. We could value more the things in life that matter like faith and family. We could appreciate more the blessings we have so often taken for granted. We could put down our phones, turn off our computers, and have more face-to-face conversations. We could love more and judge less. We could value all human life more. We could ask less. We could thank more.

Life will undoubtedly look different on the other side of COVID-19, but it doesn't have to be a dismal view. We can take the best of the old and bring it into the future with a renewed sense of purpose and a refined values system. Life will be different. Hopefully, it will be better. For this we strive. For this we persevere. May God continue to keep you healthy and safe, and may you enjoy your "old-fashioned" day to the fullest!