Whining? Who me?

Sometimes when I lean towards whining because I don’t feel like doing the things that come with ordinary living, it takes reading about a family like Laura Ingalls Wilder’s family to knock some sense into me.

How can anyone complain about doing laundry when they have a machine that does it all?  How can anyone get “tired” of doing dishes (I don’t have a dishwasher) when Laura’s hot water came through a pipe, through her cookstove?

My own grandma baked several loaves of bread by hand to meet the needs of her growing family.  I can’t hardly figure out how to use the bread mixer to make something that doesn’t feel like cardboard.  I swear I will never complain that I don’t feel like going to the grocery store ever again because it is SO MUCH TROUBLE to get into my air-conditioned car and drive there.

It’s all about your perspective.  It is so easy to romanticize about “the good old days,” but as my husband’s grandma used to say, “What’s so good about the good old days?”  She should know.  Her hard-working husband built their small two-bedroom house—where they raised their four children—starting with a tar paper floor.  I can still remember the look of sadness on grandpa’s face when it was brought up because he felt so bad that his wife had to endure the tar paper flooring.  

I really don’t think we are as tough today as the men and women who have gone before us.  As you know, I reach for my vacuum when a spider attacks me while watching TV—Laura Ingalls lived for a time in a sod house when she was young.  I said to my husband the other day, “Can you imagine the spiders that you would have in a sod house?”  “And worms, too,” he said, making me feel much better about my occasional spider and my solid walls.

I guess you can get used to anything when you are trying to get by.  I was surprised to learn how much the Ingalls family moved around and the variety of jobs Charles had to take on; in my romantic version of their time, I hadn’t considered the long cold winters where food was scarce and trains couldn’t move to bring in supplies and people died of starvation. My picture is from the Little House on the Prairie television series where most days were sunny and warm and the children went to a quaint little schoolhouse.

What I’m trying to say is that as I get older, I seem to have a growing sense of gratitude for all of the good things in life.  I know this may not be a reality for many people who are trying to scrape by to make ends meet, but whatever situation you may find yourself in, it is helpful to count your blessings—whatever they are, no matter how small they may be at the moment.

I have a prayer at hand that helps lift me up sometimes.  Maybe it will help you as well.

Count your blessings

Janet Cassidy

janetcassidy.com