Hanging Out with Ceily Ann

Today is a simply gorgeous day!  The birds are twitterpating (remember, Bambi?!) and singing up a storm.  The air is moving gently and wraps my shoulders in comforting warm.........simply yummy.  And I'm doing one of my mindless, old timey chores - hanging linens on the line to dry.  What could be better than that?

Every time I hang laundry out to dry, I think of my grandmother.  In her later years, she lived with my mom (her daughter) and she had no need to hang the laundry on the line.  In fact, she probably hadn't hung the laundry out in many years.  Times had changed and everyone had an electric clothes dryer to boast about.  When she passed away many of her things that she had moved to my mother's home were placed in or left in the garage.  The fate of those things were left for another day's decision.  Eventually my mom was able to start the sifting process, doling out pieces here and there as different family members dropped by for a visit.  The conversations were something like this....  "I was going thru Grandma's boxes yesterday and found......   Do you have a use for it?  Or would you like to have this?" 

My standard answer for this type of question is almost always "Yes!".  My husband and I are both the oldest children of our respective homes.  Family history is really important to us.  One particular day I was asked about my Grandmother's clothes pins and the bag that she had rigged up for containing and dispensing them.  At that time, my children were much younger and needier.  The thought of walking outside to hang up anything to dry rather than tossing it into my convenient gas dryer just seemed like too much more work to me.  In spite of that, I responded as usual with a cheery "Yes!". 

But the times did change, the kids grew and I began to see my "chore" time as a time to just check my cares at the back door and let my mind wander while I thoughtlessly worked thru the basket.  That's when I noticed how smooth the clothes pins were - satiny smooth.  I noticed how different, decorative and, even, beautiful the wire mechanisms were.  That's when I realized that these pins were ancient and had probably been doing their service for decades.  What a treasure I had unknowingly accepted! 

So today as I hung those same sheets and towels out to dry, I lovingly thought of my Grandmother Burcham.  Mother of six children, longtime wife to one man, conqueror of The Great Depression Era troubles, baker of countless apple pies, talker of tall tales, silly jokes and a little (or a lot of) gossip here and there, lover of Jesus and His church, tender of the garden and preserver of it's bounty.............  She was a ball of fire wrapped in a 5' frame!  I loved her SO!

My hope is that one day my future grandchildren will remember me as lovingly when they are just living their regular lives, doing their mindless chores and then they...............SMILE.