I had the most wonderful opportunity to speak with one of the “powers that be” here in the city today and was most delighted to find that I am yet not alone. For nearly 45 minutes we spoke about out childhood days of growing up on a working farm with so many siblings. Early up and late to bed and yet it was all worth it. Can you imagine before the child labor laws were enacted, seeing small children doing work that grown adults now would refuse to do? Wow…how times have changed. But, my memories of my childhood were not only filled with work but most of all, the memories of the stories we collectively created while working in the barns and fields, the singing, the laughter, and above all, the sense that we were all part of a grand plan. We truly shared and cared.
My parents were not mean spirited; they loved each and every one of us without resign. They believed that hardship and endurance created character and when my older siblings were ready to leave, I remember my mother always telling them, “You must use the gifts that you have been given to their absolute best.” I wish there were more families now that had that same forward thinking. Plant the seeds….and they will grow.
