Things I’ve Learned

I believe in the wisdom of our elders.  To that end, here are a few things I learned from my grandmother.

• Always sleep on a satin pillowcase – it’ll keep you from gettin wrinkles.
• When gettin a massage, be sure the person givin it always rubs UP.  Gravity will do enough damage, you don’t need no one else helpin it along.
• Campho-phenique will heal anything!  It is a wonder drug! 
• Lemon juice and salt will take a stain out of white laundry.  Just put on the lemon juice, then salt and let it the item dry in the sun.
• Never let your clothes set in the dryer.  Always take them out when the dryer is still turnin, if you do that and then press them a bit with your hands, you’ll never have to iron (and my Grandma was the QUEEN of Laundry)!
• Pretty is as pretty does.
• Idle hands are the devil’s workshop (and that woman was NEVER idle).
• Everything you do is a reflection on your people – regardless of how old you are, how old they are or WHERE you live.  It will get back and it WILL reflect either good or bad on your people.  (Maybe she was psychic – in these internet days, it’s more real than ever.  Anytime you see a horrible thing that someone does, SOMEBODY says, “why wasn’t s/he raised better?”)
• You lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas.
• You don’t have to be beautiful, just do the best you can with what God gave you.

To this day I think of that woman (and my Momma and Daddy) every time I get ready to leave the house.  I won’t go out without being somewhat presentable.  That means hair brushed (usually curled and fixed, but at least in a ponytail), make-up on and dressed in “real clothes”.  I don’t understand people going to town in pajamas or sweats.  Those are clothes to either go to bed in or to use at the gym, but not for the public.  I know that sounds old fashioned, but I don’t want my family to be ashamed of me, nor do I want to subject others to my slovenly self.

Notice I said “go to town”, that’s what we used to call it, and I still do.  It can mean anything from going to the grocery store to the library to going out to supper.  It’s one of the things I guess I’ll always say – it’s part of me.  Comes from those years of  living on the farm and even though I live in the metroplex now, I’m still not used to it 100%.

My Grandmother used to do lots of things that I could never keep up with today – she was an amazing woman.   She came to live with us on the farm when I was about 10 I guess.  She could outwork any man, young or old way into her 80’s.  The only time she’d take a break during the day was to watch her “stories”.  Otherwise she was cleaning house, doing laundry, fighting with the pigs (literally, but that’s another story), or sweeping.  She’d sweep the kitchen floor, the front porch and sometimes even the dirt between the wash-house and the house. 

That’s all I’ve got for now.  There are a million stories about my Grandmother, and the farm and just growing up.  Perhaps I’ll use this blog as a way to get them out.  But not now…another day.