We live in a fast paced world and so much has been lost to everyday distractions. Our generations before us never had the things that consume our time. I feel that we have too much and many people feel we are suppose to have all of the things that are offered today and somehow think that is being successful.
I am not sure this modern world has accomplished making items that make our life easier. When Charles and I started removing items from our house it was a relief and we realized that many things had become a burden. How many appliances can we have? Too many.
We did not just remove but we brought in more items that were more functional and purposeful and what we should have kept from long ago.
I feel what has happened is that people have fallen into being entertained and having fun and now even something to keep their attention in between those two so they are not even taking care of their own things.
It is okay to have fun but first there are priorities. Long ago people enjoyed themselves, they had happiness and fun but in a more balanced way and after necessary and routine work was done.
Long ago people had time to sit a spell and have a cup of coffee or a glass of tea with a friend and maybe a piece of pie and they were present with one another. It was common to see people sitting on their porches in rocking chairs and one day I realized that most people no longer have porches big enough to fit a rocking chair.
But even more common was people helping others. They did not do this for pay, they did it because that is just how it was done. What I mean by help is any kind of help, working on their car, something too heavy for one person, repairing something, helping someone work on a quilt. Cooking meals when one was sick or helping them with their wash.
I feel people have filled their lives so much that they have forgotten to leave time to help someone else as it was done long ago.
We have a family member that cannot get out for groceries and so Charles has been taking groceries to her once a week for almost two years. He does repairs and such as that to help, takes her trash can to the road and anything he can. Now that we both can actually go into her house since we are all vaccinated, I tag along and we can can catch up on things better.
I made a video of our trip to her cottage house which is an hour away from our home one way.
It is not natural for Charles and I to not be able to help someone and this virus has put a strain but there are ways to help people during difficult times because people have been doing this since time started.
There are many ways to help someone, we can take them a meal or even part of a meal. Share what we have when we can.
When we see someone is struggling to keep up, we put on our old clothes and do the work that is difficult for them to do.
What surprises me is that long ago when family or friends were obviously needing help, we would get together and go there and spruce things up. My cousins and I would do this and take care of what was needed and put them in a much better situation when we left.
Washing windows for a loved one that we know cannot possibly do that. They might say, oh I can't ask you to do that and possibly say no but go ahead and do it for them so they can enjoy having clean windows.
Something like, "I see you need that step fixed". That would be something we would hear long ago and know whoever said that would come back and fix it or see that it was done.
If you have a good harvest and can your food, share some with someone that you know that has little money for extras at the grocery store. Then you can ask for them to save your jars and you can check on them again.
If someone is having a Birthday, you do not have to bake a full cake if they live alone, make them some cupcakes or a small cake or even part of a cake.
Offer to take them to the cemetery if they would like to go. Many older folks do not like to ask for help.
This brings up another thing. When the Covid Virus was going pretty strong and the beginning of the virus, it got old pretty quick to not get out. Several months after the virus started,I told Charles I needed something to do to get me out and walking more.
We decided to find our generations before us that we had never known where they were buried and we went to the cemeteries and found several of our family members. We also found that graves need tending and this was something that was done long ago but our society today is so busy that many people are not doing this. So please tend a cemetery or at least a family or friend's grave if there is no one to do it.
I will close now and link you to the new video I have done of our visit to the cottage to deliver groceries and clean her deck.
My website is being upgraded, there are a lot of changes to the inside part that I work on and may be a few changes to the front page. It is not finished so some things still need adjusting.
To see video that goes with this post click here.
Grandma Donna
