'We Had Everything But Money'

For the past few months, Eric and I have been cleaning out our attic.  We have been looking through old cards, letters, books and papers.  I brought home a book when we were cleaning out my parents house titled 'We Had Everything But Money'.  My mother had ordered it from a company that published a magazine that specialized in stories from years ago.  This particular book is about the depression.  People had written short stories about their life during those days.  I never really heard my parents talk about the depression much, only that they didn't have any money before so they really weren't affected when it happened. 

I started reading the book as I walked on the treadmill at the gym.  I expected the book to have some sad stories but amazingly most of them focused on their families and how they helped each other.  Some of the writers used such words as 'pride, determination, courage, bravery and hard work'.  A few of the people told of the banks closing and losing their money.  Everything they had was gone.  But they never gave up. 

One story that struck my heart was about 2 young men who 'rode the rails' looking for work.  They stopped off in one town and decided to knock on doors of houses looking for a meal.  The 2 men split up since they knew most families wouldn't feed both of them.  Chester went to one house and knocked on the back door.  As he was about to leave, an elderly lady answered.  He offered to do any job she needed in exchange for a sandwich and a cool drink.  The lady invited him in and proceeded to show him the bathroom so he could wash before eating.  She cleaned his clothes, then fixed him a hot meal.  "How old are you"?, she asked as he ate his breakfast.  "Twenty", he said.  To which she responded, "my son will be twenty soon.  He left last spring looking for work.  He sent me a postcard from Salt Lake City 2 months ago and I haven't heard from him since".  After the young man finished eating, he asked her what work he could do to repay her.  She told him that he didn't need to do any work for her, that she wanted him to go home to his family.  She didn't want another mother to worry like her, wondering where her son was and if someone was kind enough to fix him a meal.

I have 2 sons.  I can remember them at the age of 20 years old.  They were in college and worked on the weekends, summers and breaks from school.  They were hard workers and were willing to do anything to make money.  I cannot imagine what the lady in the story felt like.  Every day wondering if her son was hungry or had a place to sleep. 

That story was the last one I read that day as I worked out.  It's kind of hard to read when your eyes are blurry.

Happy Birthday Amber

Today is our daughter-in-law Amber's birthday.  She and Paul have been married for over 6 years.  I remember the first time we met her when Paul brought her to the house.  It was on our house cleaning night while we were trying to get things done.  I'm sure we didn't make as good an impression as we would have liked.   We knew right after they started dating that she would be our daughter-in-law one day. 

Amber is very talented at whatever she does; whether it is singing or decorating their home.  She is very creative and has made the grandchildren's nurseries so sweet.  Her ideas for Georgia's birthday parties have been amazing. 

Amber has always been a very upbeat person, even when she has had a bad day.  We are so blessed that God picked her to be Paul's wife.

Happy birthday Amber.

Comfort Food

Eric and I walk in the afternoon and the other day the conversation came up about food.  There are certain people in our lives that we associate different foods with.  When I was growing up and attended church, we had Homecoming every year.  Women cooked for 2-3 days to get ready for the Sunday that special speakers and guests would be there.  Chicken and dumplings, fresh coconut cakes, all kinds of food that weren't made every day. 

We started naming the women who made dishes that we could remember.  LB made the small little ham sandwiches on the dinner rolls.  MJ made chicken and dumplings that made you think she had just killed the chicken that morning and cooked it.  One lady made country ham biscuits that she took on the bus when we went to the Worlds Fair in Knoxville one year.  Hot dog suppers meant someone always brought her baked beans (no canned) in a big casserole dish. 

Thanksgiving Day was spent with both families.  Everyone had their familiar standbys that we could be counted on to bring.  No need to call each other to make sure we didn't have 5 of one dish.  That never happened.  Eric's grandmother always made the dressing and when you walked into her house that day, the smell of sage met you at the door.  My specialty was macaroni and cheese and rice casserole and I took home empty containers every time.  At my parents house, you could always count on my mom to make a cherry pie.  My sister had a garden and always brought green beans that she had canned that summer.  As it happened one year, she dropped the pot of beans in the yard.  Thinking she could pick up the pile of beans that had not hit the ground, she scooped them up and put them back into the pot.  Only later as we were fixing our plates, did we realize what she had done when we found a few pine needles mixed in.  Since we had all eaten 2 meals that day, dessert wasn't really thought about.  But every year, my sister-in-law made rocky road squares for us to snack on as we sat around and talked.

I can see pictures of food now and think about those days.  I can walk into a place and a familiar scent will be present.  It takes me back to the days of good food and good times.