My husband and I returned home from a two-week vacation just before Christmas. We brought back a lot of photos, a few extra pounds, and a suitcase full of clothes in need of washing. Sunday, December 24, was bright and breezy so I took advantage of the weather to hang out the laundry.
I was reaching for the clothesline when I heard my mother say “Laundry on a Sunday! And on Christmas Eve!! What will the neighbors say?!” Now there are two things worth noting here: one, my clothesline is not visible to my neighbors and two, my mother passed away almost ten years ago.
My mother’s admonitions have stayed with me over the years. I heard her clearly one spring cleaning when my husband was grabbing up curtains I had just ironed (Not the curtains!). And when I got my first cat (What on earth were you thinking?) who later became her beloved companion. My father’s approach to life was less…..complicated. (Who gives a @#$% what the neighbors think!) and I bounced between these two goal posts as I grew up.
Parental advice is not unlike a suitcase full of vacation clothes. Some no longer fit and will be thrown away. Others will be cleaned up and kept for future use. The bits of wisdom we treasure are those that can be adapted to our lives, the conditions and circumstances of which our parents could not know.
I’m pretty sure that I have managed to reach adulthood with the positive core values they gave me. I’ve even given myself absolution for hanging out laundry on a Sunday. I know now that my parents did the best job they could with what they knew. I know that I was loved. I hope that my own children will learn to sort out my commentary and keep the love.
~Karen Smith
I love every bit of this! Thank you for sharing! Keep the love. The rest is commentary.
The voices from my past have a certain ring to them. The voice I hear in my head can make me smile and feel loved, the same voice can be quite irritating. I am thankful for both. They both molded my character and they both show me how it feels to be the child.
I am so grateful that I can now unpack the suitcase, decide what to keep, pass on the love, and hopefully, if I really want to, Hang my laundry out to dry !
So, so true, Karen. I identify with so much of what you said, but you said it all so eloquently. I hope Erin will keep the love, and not all of my commentary.