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Life Lessons
My mother, the oldest of nine children, was raised in a farming community during the depression. I do not think she or her siblings knew it was the depression, only that there was not a lot of extra money. Quite often, she could be heard saying "we learned to make do" when talking about her childhood. As she relayed these stories (some of laughter, some of tears), I believe they "learned" more than that. One could feel the love and appreciation she had for her parents, siblings and the community she lived in underlining her every word.
From an early age, my mother's generation was taught they were an integral part of family life. From the youngest to the oldest, each had a chore or job to do that was absolutely necessary to the over all well-being of the family. A sense of belonging was cultivated along with the fields. Each job was rewarded not with candy or toys but with the knowledge that their accomplishment developed their individual self-worth: "hard work makes the reward worth having", my mom was also fond of saying. They were taught to be accountable for their actions, to stand up "like a man" when punishment was dished out.
They learned to value the land, to appreciate and respect the environment. From rotating crops to grazing their cows to hunting for food, they were taught to acknowledge nature and its bounty. As each grew older, that sense of belonging branched out to include the community and the country. Each had a role to play in the over all scheme of life, no matter what the job or chore. They were taught to take pride in their work, no matter how menial the job. "If the job is worth doing, it's worth doing well" was another one of my mother's favorites.
What I never heard my mother say was how they learned to value the dollar. When society transitioned into the industrial age and individuals started trading their time for money; they lost the ability to value themselves and placed the definition of their "self-worth" in the hands of someone else. But, worse yet, this new class of citizens lost the ability to teach the next generation these very valuable skills. Humanity left behind some very important life-lessons all in the name of progress and the Industrial Age.
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Contributor's Note
My mother passed away on August 5, 2003. I miss her "life-lessons"
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My Mom at 80
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This intel was contributed by mizrae
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May, 2012
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