Friday, August 26, 2011

Remembering my momma

Today my late mother's been on my mind.

She grew up in an era when not having water and electricity wasn't unusual in rural Oklahoma.  Got married, and had four children.  Lived in a house with no running water or inside bathroom for 16 years with all four of us kids. She hauled water from the well outside the kitchen door, brought in a big galvanized bath tub and filled it with water she'd heated on the stove for us to bathe in.  She had no air conditioning for another 5 years.  She sewed all our clothes, cooked meals, did laundry and kept an immaculate house.

I remember moving into town when I was seven years old.  Momma was so happy because we had a bathroom and a big old hot water tank in the kitchen so we could take our baths and she could do her dishes without having to heat the water.

It's 100 degrees today and about 74 degrees in my nice air conditioned house.  I deep cleaned the kitchen, and living room, did 4 loads of laundry and dusted/vacuumed the rest of the house.  The whole time I was cleaning, I was thinking about how hard it was and how hot I was getting.

Then, I remembered momma.  No matter what the weather, there was a cooked dinner on the table every night.  Clothes were washed, hung outdoors to dry, starched, ironed and hung back in the closet. Her hardwood floors weren't dusty and the bathroom and kitchen were always kept clean.

She'd have gotten up early to do the heavy work when it was this hot, but she'd have done it in a house that would have been 10-15 degrees hotter than mine.

Just thinking about how hard it had to have been for her to do all this without the convenient appliances and utilities I have made me stop to really appreciate what she and my dad had to do to raise us kids.

Maybe you didn't grow up in a house like ours, but I'll guarantee that you have it easier than your mother did.  If you're fortunate enough to still have your mother, you may want to just give her a call and say "thanks".


9 comments:

BethanyR said...

WOW! AWESOME Blog post...I read it then reread it out loud to my mom...she is always telling me stories of how she grew up...it really does make us stop and think...

Flamenco92627/ Julieta said...

That's so true, Linda. Thank you for sharing your Mom with us!

Anonymous said...

Today I was commenting on how I couldn't bear the thought of going without electricity and running water for a week if we lose power with this hurricane. Your story has humbled me and I will no longer complain. Thanks for giving us a piece of yourself.

Becky Moore said...

Amen!

MaryH said...

I've heard those same stories of hard times, and it makes me feel ashamed when I complain, with all the conveniences that we now have today. We have become a "ME" society, that doesn't always appreciate the sacrifices our parents made so that we have a better life. Thank you for reminding us.

Brenda said...

Your story about your mother brought back many memories of takig a bath in the galvanized tubs in the kitchen down south when I was a little kid!! I remember well taking a bath like that in the kitchen and loved it! it was so warm and cozy in the kitchen, but I didn't want the guys to come in the kitchen and would always remind them to stay out. LOL I don't know how the women back then did it, but they did and did it well!!! I can hardly stand the heat and I am blessed with air conditioning. I get so hot and sweaty just blow drying my hair. LOL Times sure have changed haven't they?!! We certainly have it much, much easier than our momma's did and we can't even do what we need to do with the dignity and grace that they had. Hats off to our momma's or whoever the lady was that nutured us!

Carolyn/MamaC said...

Thank you for your memory of your mother! She was special!
Carolyn
http://cccscraproom.blogspot.com

Robyn said...

Wonderful tribute! My 88yrs old Mom lives next door to me. Thank you for sharing, sometimes I forget how lucky I am that my Mother is still in good health.

M from Texas said...

Thanks for the reminder.