Could You???

Hey, I posted three times today! I have all kinds of crazy thoughts running through my head today, so I guess it is best to blog them while they are fresh!

Today I was talking with Trish and we were thinking back to our childhood and our memories of growing up. This question came to mind.

If you had to down-size....REALLY downsize, do you think you could handle it?

My answer is YES! Absolutely. I have come to realize that although I love my house, I don't LOVE my house. I love the people in it. And yes, I will even admit that I love some of the possessions inside the house. But most things, I could live without. I attribute this to my value system. Somehow we have gotten away from simplicity and have put all our efforts into achieving. It is kind of sad.

When we were growing up (as I stated before) we weren't rolling in cash. But I have some really cool memories about growing up WITHOUT CASH! For example, I remember asking my dad for a belt. He went to the garage, got a piece of rope, burnt the ends , put it through my belt loops, tied some "boy scout" knot and away I went. I TOTALLY have a vivd memory of that and my dad probably doesn't even remember!

I also remember my mom making us stuffed animals. She would buy the least expensive fabric, fill them and make tails, manes, etc. from left-over yarns. I remember having a horse made out of the left over fabric mom used to make a dress that Pam wore for my Aunt Linda's wedding. Mom was also great at making Barbie clothes. They were so intricate, they even had tiny buttons down the front. I never missed having a store-bought Barbie outfit.

Do you remember the fine art of Macreme'? I think ALL my friends had owls or elaborate wall hangings displayed in their houses that were created by their moms. Remember the dolls with croche' skirts that fit inside toilet paper rolls? Have you ever received a Lilt Home perm? Did you ever brush with baking soda?

Do you know that I never had a large, elaborate wooden swingset (although MY children have)? We had a metal swingset that would thump from the leg lifting everytime we would swing too high. We would have to be careful not to cut ourselves if there were raw edges exposed and rusty.

The only people I knew with a gardener was The Brady kids (ala Brady Bunch). You never hired someone to paint your house or to be an exterminator. Bees were a part of life and you could count on someone getting stung at least once each summer.

We did have a treat each week. On Friday nights, dad would take us to McDonalds while mom worked at the hospital. We never ate IN McDonalds, but sat in the back of the car in the parking lot. There were no drive-thru windows. People actually got out of their cars EVERYTIME and went into McDonalds to place their order. I always received a plain hamburger, a small fry and a small orange drink. NO HAPPY MEALS. No such thing.....but we were happy! Otherwise, we didn't eat out that much except for a fish dinner on Good Friday.

Did you ever knot the ends of dandilions together to make crowns? Did you have to pull a chair up in front of the sink to wash dishes? NO DISHWASHERS!

Do you remember only having three television stations? I remember WAITING for Wild Kingdom and Disney every Sunday at 7:00 p.m. I can even remember my mom teaching me how to pin a cloth diaper onto our dolls for future reference (wink, wink).


I think my dad phrased it best. He told me that he was always clothed and never went hungry. God always took care of his needs. Not always his wants, but always his needs.

Therefore, I think I have faith in God enough to ALWAYS take care of my needs.

Yep, I can down-size.