Hindsight

Washing Dishes

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Today I am thankful for dirty dishes.

When I was a little I washed many dirty dishes. After every evening meal it was my job to wash the dishes. Above the kitchen sink my mother had taped several rhyming verses she had clipped from the newspaper or a magazine. One was about being thankful for the dirty dishes. 

Years later I saw the verse still taped above her sink along with several others. It had moved with her to a different house but was reinstalled in its proper place in her kitchen. 

The paper was brown and tattered, just barely being held together by two pieces of dried cracked cellophane tape. There were water marks where she, Mother, no doubt had straightened it out to read it as she washed dishes over the years. 

The words are engraved in my memory. 

Thank God for Dirty Dishes.
They have a tale to tell.
While others may go hungry,
We are eating well.
With home and health and happiness,
I no cause to fuss,
For by this stack of evidence,
God’s been very good to us.
                       ~ Mary Arlis Stuber

I don’t wash as many dishes these days. I mostly load and unload a dish washing machine.  But when I do wash dishes too delicate for the dishwasher, I find it very relaxing and peaceful as I gently swish soap over each piece and then rinse it clean in warm water. It does not seem so much a dreary task as it is a comforting memory.

My mind goes back to those days when washing dishes was a chore. I can still see that verse taped to the window frame above the sink. I pause, take a deep breath and say a prayer of thanks.

Support your local food bank ❤️

Photo credit: Martin de Arriba, Unsplash

Career Person or Worker Bee

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The question was posed, “If you had to go back in time and start a brand new career, what would it be?” Well, I would have to have had a career to begin with to start a “brand new” one. According to my Social Security record I have worked every year since 1972 except three. One was in 1974 when I was pregnant with AKA and moved to Alaska; and in 1991 and 1992 when Chris started SubTerra. I actually worked those two years, I just didn’t get paid!

I wouldn’t call anything I’ve done a career. I am just a worker bee. When I was young I was a very good student but I was much too timid and withdrawn and had no ambition to do or be anything. I know this sounds uninspiring but it is the truth.

As I got a little older and especially after I moved to Alaska, I became an ardent “people watcher.” I was often lonely and felt isolated thousands of miles from the rest of the US. Many nights I would go to the Anchorage airport and watch travelers come and go. I loved seeing the excitement and love people shared when they greeted each other or the emotional goodbyes as they parted.

In the early 80’s after I got my GED, I attended a local community college for a while and I was interested in knowing more about what made people “tick.” So at that time, and many times since then, I felt I might have been a good psychologist. I think I am a good listener and several times in my life I have met people that share some of the most personal things with me. Often these were strangers or people I just had met. Sometimes I wondered if there was something about my face that said, “I am a good listener!”

Anyway there it is… a Shrink.

In 1987 Chris and I had some discussion about careers and jobs, and although I do not remember exactly what brought about the discussion, the next day I wrote him a note about my feeling on the whole matter. My thoughts are below and my views are pretty much the same.

“I may not have a ‘career’ in the eyes of the world; but I feel my life has touched others in a positive way. I don’t have the need to prove myself to the entire world to show my life has value.

My goals and aspirations were sacrificed because of poor choices which I made while I was still a child. I believe I was given an above average intelligence by my Maker and I have benefited from it many times. I have nothing to boast about for my mothering; I’ve made many errors which I often wish I could change. I don’t want to look at what I could have been, but at who I am now; I am thankful for the life God has given me.

If my role in life from the world’s point-of-view is that of a ‘peon,’ then I am even more amazed at the wonders of God. My life may not change history, but if I try every day to live it and help others I know God will remember me when my life is over. This world offers no rewards…careers in this world are only temporary…I want to spend the rest of my life working at a career which would exemplify Christ’s life. My failure at a worldly career is of no consequence to me; my career success is yet to be determined.”

Unclear Vision

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2020 Vision
A perfect sight they say
But this year
That is 2020
Didn’t turn out that way.

Winter’s end turned to spring
And started with great hope,
Sadly spiraled downward,
When people started buying
All the TP and soap.

The virus that at first
We were told was not a worry,
Soon showed it had a deadly side.
The future became uncertain
More crazed, weird and blurry.

The message came,
Fifteen days to slow the curve.
With lockdown it was slowed
But days grew into months
Which cause many to unnerve.

Keeping a six foot distance
Our faces fully masked,
Lest we make a human touch.
Following all the protocols
Doing what was asked.

One tragedy upon another
A murder lit a fuse
Protests turned to violence
Lawlessness arose
The situation to abuse

Phases of reopening
Now we’re into summer
This has become a waiting game
And this year of 2020
Is thus far a real bummer.

2020 Vision
Is always better in hindsight.
Knowing what we know today,
We wonder
If all choices were exactly right.

Hopefully by year’s end
We’ll see the past more clearly
With empathy and wisdom
Not taking for granted
All the freedoms we hold dearly.

Trish © 8/4/20

 

Why Old Ladies Wear Lots of Jewelry

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Something I remember from my youth, southern ladies draped in jewelry;  a ring on every finger, some with two, bracelets up their arms and three or four necklaces of varying lengths.  Gold, silver, diamonds and gems sparkling like a star filled night.

I’ve read, in looking at this phenomenon, that it’s possibly the flashy jewelry  takes away from the “wrinkles, thinning hair and double chins” Interesting theory, but no.

Back then, in my schoolgirl days, I wondered if it was just an exhibition of wealth.  These rich old ladies adorning themselves with jewels to show they’ve made it. Looking like a walking, talking jewelry store, jingle and jangling with every movement.

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However, now that I am hitting my mid-sixties,  I more fully understand. Each morning I get ready for work and put on my favorite daily-go-to-bracelet and I rotate a few favorite earrings and necklaces; three or four pieces and done.   I wear the same basic things every day.

The amazing thing is that over the 37 years of marriage Chrissie has given me lots of fabulous baubles. Some I have not worn more than a handful of times, on “special occasions.” They are safely tucked away in their velvet boxes. Occasionally I check on them, open the box and admire them but almost never wear them. Too much for everyday I thought, but I lately I am thinking, “How many more special occasions will I have left in my lifetime? “ I should wear them more than one every now and then. I need to stack up on bracelets… maybe four one one arm two on the other.  Either I am going to enjoy these baubles or they will just go to the next person down the line and to me they would have been just hidden treasures.

So here it is, the real reason old ladies wear lots of flashy jewelry is because we realize time is short and we realize there was no reason to save these baubles for special occasions. Everyday we old ladies wake up and put our feet on the floor and face the day, it is, a special occasion.   So here we come, love or not, we are going to sparkle and shine.