The Way They Lived

Last Friday evening, while Josiah and David were reveling in the rides at the lawn party, I was looking around at the surrounding countryside and reveling in the green I saw all around. As I looked across the main road from the Ruritan Park where the lawn party was held, I noticed this house...

...a house which I pass every time I drive into town, but which I rarely stop to reflect upon. This house is special because it belongs to a family that my family has known for a very long time; but much more significantly, it is the first house that my family lived in when they returned from Dad's two years of alternative service in Puerto Rico (he worked in a Church of the Brethren hospital in the mountains of Puerto Rico, having all kinds of adventures, including delivering an infant boy who they then found out was available for adoption so they adopted him a few days after birth--that's my brother Doug). When they lived in the house pictured above, I wasn't born yet or even thought about...and the house itself has been added onto and changed substantially since they lived there so it doesn't look the same...but it's still a special piece of our family history, and I'm glad to be able to see that house and show it to my children to help them connect with the generations that have come before them.

And speaking of connecting, sometimes that connection is easier than at other times. Occasionally, no matter our efforts, the younger generation just doesn't have a clue about what life was really like for their parents or grandparents. Case in point: this suppertime conversation between my mother and Josiah that I jotted down some weeks ago (but forgot to blog about!)...

Josiah was telling my mother about a typing program he does on the computer that he thinks is absolutely thrilling (and he's learned a ton from it, too). My mother, being the ardent supporter of wholesome learning that she always is and continually wanting to encourage him, said, "I LOVED typing class!"

To this, Josiah replied, "Did you have video games?"

Huh? Excuse me? Dear child, do you not realize that Grandma didn't even have indoor plumbing in her parents' house by the time she was married and had to take her bath the night before her wedding in a metal tub they brought out for bathing? And as far as other "bathroom needs," the outhouse was the name of the game in those days. So, as far as video games in typing class, the answer would be a resounding no!

But of course, Josiah has no concept of the passage of time and how very recent the invention of computers, video games, the Internet, and the like really is. His innocence is both refreshing and amusing. :)

Just because it makes me smile, here's my favorite picture from the lawn party...and two of my very favorite boys in the whole world. Josiah and David seemed as thrilled on this motorcycle ride as a grown man is when he gets his first Harley. :)

One more tidbit about Josiah...tonight when he gave me a hug and kiss before I tucked him in bed, he said this completely out of the blue:

I love you more than a million pieces of gold.

Oh, my sweetheart, I love you that much--and more.