What a week! Have you ever heard of the old saying "run ragged"? I feel as if I have been run ragged. More hours at work, kids in the after school activities, wedding reception, birthday party, and today I had to take my son to the doctor and then to the Out Patient services for x-rays. He might have fractured his hand or wrist in football. With my husband in the fields, it is up to me to do it all.
As I sit here writing this with guilt on my shoulder because I haven't written on my site since Friday, I try to think of ways to take a few moments for myself. Monday I went to Dairy Queen and read a book while I ate my lunch. Then treated myself to an ice cream cone. I have to say it was fun and very relaxing. Something so simple, was exactly what I needed.
This got me to thinking. There are so many ways for me to relax. I could go and take a walk at the park. Maybe go to the Library, watch a movie, read a book, or get my nails done. What did the women from the past do to relax? I can't imagine that I am suffering from anything that any woman through the years hasn't suffered from. Kids running through the house, siblings fighting, spills made and things torn. Or how about the husband who brings in his dirty shoes on a clean floor, food that didn't cook right, or not enough money to get done what needs to be done.
In this day and age kids go to school for 8 hours. I have a husband that I could wag my finger at for disgracing my poor floors, and there are many more options to us to get money. We have come along way. What do you think mom's did back in the day when they needed to relax? How did they keep sane when once in a while every fiber of their being was on the brink of going crazy?
Good question. The average woman in olden days probably had to work so hard, when did she relax? No microwaves and showers and modern conveniences to save on time. They couldn't pull the chicken out of the freezer, they had to kill and pluck it. They didn't have this access to entertainment that we have, so they were probably glad to just sit down with a glass of iced tea, maybe read a book. I don't know, but it makes me curious.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they ever did relax. There wasn't enough time. Take my grandmother for instance. The morning of the day she died, she rose at sunrise, picked blackberries, made two blackberry pies, cleaned the kitchen and straightened the house because she didn't want it messy when she laid down for just a bit because she didn't feel well. The house had to be spotless in case surprise visitors dropped in after church. By that afternoon, she'd died of a perforated ulcer. I can only imagine the pain she must've been suffering when she finally laid down on her bed because "she felt a might poorly". What a woman!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever seen the PBS House Series? They showed what it was like to live in a manor house in Edwardian Britain, on the frontier in the 1800's, a 17th century colonial house, etc. There was so much work to be done in all the time periods. From what I've seen, the women were stuck in the kitchen all day long. We have it so easy with our microwaves, conventional ovens, and dishwashers! My great- grandmother used to plow the fields while raising 4 kids by herself because her husband ran off with someone else. Women like her were extraordinary!
ReplyDeleteJena, I haven't seen the series, but would love to. I will have to see if I can find it. Sounds great.
ReplyDeleteI think also, depending on what time period we want to refer to, there were more limitations to women. The closer we get to the 1900's the more women had, though there we still many stipulations. Many women were not taught to read or write, so even reading the bible would have been hard. They would have went over to a nieghbors house and talked while the children played with each other. If the children took naps she would have had some alone time there. Would she have sewn or maybe napped herself? I am interested in learning more.