I am humbled.
I think of all the women in the past that had to plant their own food, wash and sew all their clothing and bedding, and raise and kill their own food just to survive. They didn't get vacations or breaks. They did what had to be done probably without complaining. These tasks took all day, not to mention they probably were caring for a child or children.
Since I believe God put us in the time (Century) and place that we are meant to be and best suited to live, I can't help but think that I'm a sissy. Do I think, God thinks I'm a sissy?... No, but it was a snazzy title, n'est pas?
My generation (you can also read: I) and future generations make life more complicated that it should be. We have modern day amenities that the Pioneers wouldn't even dream of. Skills they learned in life by watching their moms, grandmothers, dads, grandfathers were necessities for survival and for their children's survival. We complicate everything. Dilute it. Sell it in shiny packaging. I think we have WAY too many choices. Too many temptations. Too much of everything. Our society would never make it in back then... at least not without being able to google..."How to slaughter a chicken?"
Now we choose to learn how to make bread, sew, plant a garden, knit, hunt; we call them "hobbies". We seek out only the information that interests us, and we generally do it without any other human interacting with us. We complain about not having time to do them, but then we make ourselves feel guilty when we do.
As a friend, Margie, once said in response to me asking her, "How she kept her house so neat and organized", "I have a dishwasher, washing machine, a dryer, and an oven. I mean, it's like I essentially have 4 maids..."
Whoa!
Perhaps, a dose of godly perspective...
So in my own way, I'm waging war, a war on our society and culture. I'm officially resurrecting the "Lost Life Skills of Yesteryear." Not merely for my education, but for my kids.
Here's my To-Learn list so far:
Slaughter a chicken (Talberts, let me know when. I'll be there to help)
Use an open fire to cook a meal
Make an article of clothing
Plant a garden and eat/ use all the bounty for meals
Compost
Walk to and from the Farmer's Market (in my Town)
Milk a cow or a lactating animal
Learn to make a water filter
Hunt a turkey
Make a quilt by hand
Feel free to add to my list if you feel like I'm missing some things. I'm also challenging you to resurrect a "LLSoY" that would benefit you and future generations
Charge forth, God-Designed Domestic Engineers
6 comments:
Love it. Do you really want us to teach you chicken slaughtering? Do you remember me out there in my camo pants, flinging a chicken above my head and screaming something about Little House on the Prairie until the blasted thing had a neck like three feet long?
We will have to meet at the farmers market soon. I'd say it's sort of a meet-in-the-middle spot for us, hmm? Also .. Lori our librarian sells the sweetest green colored eggs at that market.
I'm going to work on my list. Thanks for the inspiration.
Interesting post. It is great that you are doing this for your family. I have been trying to get back to the basics on some things, not as daring as you. I have to think of Meet the Fockers when you talk about the lacating animal, are you going to milk the cat? I keep wanting to go to the farmers market here too.
haha. I was going to say the same thing about the Fockers as Ashley. :-)
Well, have fun with the slaughtering and sewing - equally gruesome activities in my opinion. :-) Just remember to not overcomplicate your life when you go back to "the basics"! And is the farmer's market in walking distance?? Is it easy to get to with two kids in tow?
I loved this post! I have thought about these things so many times, but have no eloquence when it comes to writing it down. So thank you. :)
Did you ever see that PBS special about several families that lived for several months like the pioneers? It was great. There was a rich family on there and the husband was really annoying. He kept complaining that something was wrong with him (mostly he was growing very thin) so they called a dr. in... only to find out that there was nothing wrong with him. The dr. told him that's what happens when you are out doing physical labor all day and not eating the crap we are used to. Go figure.
Jen, I opted to get on my blog for the first time in years. And I clicked on yours and caught up on some of your posts. I loved reading this one...I pictured the ladies that I was blessed to spend 2 weeks with in Panda, Mozambique -Killing chickens and cooking them, building fires, baking us a cake over an open fire, up early sweeping the area outside of their kitchen hut and home (even though the area was sand, they wanted to keep it nice), etc. It was humbling to say the least. And then I pictured doing all the things you mentioned when (Lord-willing) my future hubby and I are on the mission field in Africa one day...i should start practicing now! :)
Thanks for sharing!
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