Pass It On

(After my son dropped my computer I have not had a computer for about a month so now I am trying to finish what I started with this post.)

Last Friday night I had a whole list of things to catch up on. I really thought I could accomplish most of them on Saturday after a good nights sleep. The Lord had different plans.

I woke up Saturday morning at 5 as usual and felt that we should go spend time with Mike's Grandma Kathy. Don't get me wrong, she is a wonderful, godly and talented lady at the age of 90. She really is one of my closest friends and a joy to spend time with. You know how it goes though....the list of things that needs to be done keeps running through you head.

After changing our plans, we bundled up and loaded up and were on our way to Grandma's house. And, yes, we literally go "over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go". Ok, couldn't resist!

Needless to say, she was thrilled for the company. As cold and snowy as it has been, she has not been out for several days. We were able to clear her a path so that she could get out when it cleared off and got warmer. I know we were  a blessing to her but we were blessed so much more.

During our visit Anderson "interviewed" Grandma for a school writing assignment. This sparked a lot of memories for her about life in the past but it also gave us an insight to the past. We have been studying World War I and the Great Depression which fit right into Grandma's younger years.

Are you ready to hop in the time capsule? Grandma Kathy grew up on an indian reservation in North Dakota during the Great Depression. Her father took a job from the government to be a teacher to the indian children when his job in sales went too low to support his family. Because of this opportunity they didn't feel many of the affects that millions of others did. The government provided some of the food for the indian children such as 100lb. bags of flour, lard, dried fruit, etc. They were not only responsible for their education but they played more of the care-taker role. Her father taught them, her mother and her sisters cooked for them and even cleaned the children and did laundry. Grandma's family bought most of their own food which wasn't as hard because of the steady income. She remembered her father buying a whole hog off a farmer for four cents a pound. Even for the time this was dirt cheap. We read in one of our school books that pork typically ran around 15 cents a pound for the time. The farmer just couldn't sell them and had to get some money out of them.

She also told of the trip from Noth Dakota to Harris, MO during the summer of 1933. Before they had ventured too far into South Dakota they came upon a dust storm which caused them to stop for a day. The dust was so black and thick they couldn't see their hands in front of them. They had to use their hankercheifs to filter the air they breathed. Cows were literally dropping dead because they couldn't get enough oxygen.

She also shared a few old photos and the stories behind them. One of which was her and her sisters and cousins by an old 1929 Model T when they were in Oklahoma for their great-grandfather's 80th birthday celebration. They were sitting on the ground with a bunch of very large watermelons that their great-grandfather had raised. He filled a stock tank with ice water and the watermelons for everyone's enjoyment. Grandma Kathy said they ate so much watermelon she was sick. To this day she does not care much for watermelon.

We always enjoy spending time with Grandma Kathy. We especially enjoy days like this one where we get a glimpse of the past.

So, I would encourage you to put aside that long "to do" list once in a while and take time out to share with your loved ones, especially those whom may not be around for much longer. You will be glad you did. Besides, your stuff will still be there.....I promise.