The average number of children is 7. Yes, believe it or not 7 was how many babies women had back then. I know God made us able to have more kids than women have today but 7? I can't even imagine it!! Neither can my body!
The 100% answer of people Mom's age when asked to describe your mother? "She worked hard."
Most of them described their mother's working just as equally hard as their fathers at home on the farm or in family business.
I did talk to some people who's mother's were divorced or single and they worked hard too but outside the home in low paying jobs. It seems those who had single or divorced mothers got help from relatives but didn't have a lot of choices so they were poor and often didn't really date or marry ever again. Naturally, my first question was, "Well why didn't she just date around and find another guy to help her out?" They tell me this rarely happened.in the small Texas towns they came from. Many of the single men in town were either related or only looking for a virgin. If you lost your man..you were just considered used goods or what they call a "divorcee..pronounced de-vor-say" Boy, that sucks!
When I asked my Mom about my grandmother, she described her exactly as I remember her. My mom described her mother as a humble, kind person and a wonderful wife. She described her as an obedient woman who treated her husband as a lord and master. (Her words exactly or I wouldn't even write it down.) She was subservient .It was my Grandpa's job to deliver the babies naturally and there were sometimes complications. Mother's had a hard life back then and so did their bodies.
Just as mom did, when asked to describe their mother, most those I asked described their mom as a good wife. Although some thoughts concerning mother's have changed today, do we really think we need to be a good wife to be a good mother? They think so and spoke of how their mother made their father feel valued and special and showed them an example of how a marriage relationship works. Many of them said their family all slept in very close quarters or in the same room so it was hard to hide problems and parents certainly did not have much privacy. How many women do you know now days who constantly complain about their husbands, poke fun at their manhood and it's sorta like, "Thanks for giving me these babies , now stay out of the way, I'll take care of the discipline and you just bring home a paycheck." Perhaps it's not being a good mother to love your children and treat their father like a second class citizen.
.
My mom was a very good mother and wife! I wouldn't describe her as the just like her Mom. She did not insist on her way all the time. She did let my Dad put things where ever he desired and quietly move them back where she wished after he left rather than arguing about it. My mom displayed the characteristics of a good wife closely to the way a good wife is described in the Bible. Proverbs 31:10. "An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels." Her children do rise up and call her blessed. We always say she was the best mother ever! Although I've had a different kind of life than my mother had, have a different personality and grew up in a different time, if anyone ever tells me that I'm like my mother, it's the best compliment they could give me.
Except for some of those subservient qualities...I think I may have missed out on that part of the gene pool. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment