How Did It All Get Done?
This noon I was getting the last finishing touches done on a Christmas card. It was slow going and it gave me a chance to reminisce, my favorite thing to do.
When Carrie and Kevin were toddlers, the Christmas season put jumping beans in their pants, as they literally bounced off the walls. My agenda was all about covering the bases from baking to sewing new Christmas clothes while keeping the daily routine of the farm life in tact.
The tradition had always been to bake goodies, that in today’s high end grocery stores would have been off the charts. Dough was rolled, it was pushed out of a pastry gun, it was cut out, drizzled, frosted and then hidden. Candies were boiled to the soft ball stage, candies were dipped, candies were decorated and then hidden. Forty years ago, no housewife thought these timely treasures could be foregone. Coffee guests during the Christmas season were always treated to the sweets, and at the end of the table, Carrie and Kevin would be seated with their eyes already enjoying the sweets before they were able to choose some.
Ironically when we lived on the farm, the hiding spot for the treats was never discovered by Carrie and Kevin. We lived there during the time that Carrie was a year old through the time of her being in third grade. Kevin being three years younger had cut his baby teeth on all the window sills of this home. We had a two story farm home and the stairs to the second floor included a landing before the last five steps would be taken. That entire knee wall square footage was a storage area accessed with a hinged door right off of the landing. Even Orlin and I had to give a strong leg up to gain access. The air inside this added area was cool and kept the goodies safe and sound. In the later years I have no doubt that this area, just like every area on the 160 acre farm, would be subject to exploration by the kids, Carrie more so than Kevin.
As I was growing up, all four of us Wendlandt kids sported a new Christmas outfit to be worn for the Christmas program at church as well as the gatherings during the Christmas season. Carrie and Kevin grew up with that same mind frame of mind. I enjoyed sewing for the kids any time of the year, but Christmas was special. McCalls Pattern Company put out an amazing spread of patterns for little girls. Carrie’s clothing was from the latest and greatest that McCall’s had to offer. It was a bit harder to sew for Kevin after he was age three and thereon. Three years old is about the time I heard “No more elastic pants. I want belt loops like Dad.” Skinny little butt with hips to match, but that was the fare from then on. Being the creative mom that I was and still am, I have some of Kevin’s clothing that has remained in the cedar chest in our walk up attic. The crowning glory was the three pieced suit he wore when he was in grade school. All the beautiful ruffles and pina-four outfits that Carrie had, were an equal match to Kevin’s suit. At a later Christmas, I did crochet a sweater vest for Kevin and a short sleeve sweater for Carrie. Both were trimmed out with buttons that looked like copper pennies. White turtle neck sweaters completed that ensemble.
Oh yes, those busy Christmas seasons went on without a hitch and I don’t think I knew it should be or could be any other way. One year, Orlin and the kids got matching brushed nylon pajamas that were a surprise under the Christmas tree, complete with fancy stitching from the Model 1820 Sears Sewing Machine. My sewing at that time was done at the dining room table and it was hard to work it in without been caught. I don’t think that at that time, they had put “flame resistant” fabric on the market. Orlin’s pajamas top was more of a crest on the pocket than the fancy designs that equated to kids.
I ran across this photo of Megan as a wee toddler. One of her visits to our home, taking time out from playing as a nap is about to happen. It did bring to my mind that I may have been this weary decades ago as I prepared Christmas for my family.
Those traditions took place the entire time that the farming chores and farm life went on. Eggs needed to be gathered, cows needed to be milked, and the farm home needed to be kept tidy. It was a lot on the plate, but never once was it even considered to give up the special Christmas traditions. My Mom and my sister, Elvera, were right in there with me, doing the same for their families. The three of us would compare notes and encourage each other when one of us was trying a new recipe or sewing technique.
Decades have gone by and I do very little baking. Now it’s all about the high cholesterol and keeping tabs on the blood pressure. There is hardly a piece of clothing that can be bought that does not have a stretch woven into it, or it is knit clothing in its entirety. My Model 1820 bucks at knits. Truth to be told, clothing can be bought cheaper today than starting with a pattern and purchasing the fabrics and trimmings. Even at the time that granddaughter Megan came along, eleven years ago, I tried sewing for her, but the boughten clothing had a higher utility value than I could do. Times do change.
Today, Carrie and Kevin are all about making their own traditions for their wonderful families. Fun times for them to make and fun memories for them to recall at a time that will be much quieter than it is right now. I so love that for them at a time that their homes totally become theirs.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have a blog to share my dreams, my memories, and my day-to-day life. It was very important to me that Carrie and Kevin have their own photo books that contained pages and years as my children. I passed those memories on to them, lest something would happen that the memories of those days would be lost to them. The actual photos are no longer mine, and all I need to bring those memories to me as if it were yesterday is to have a quiet moment with a cup of coffee or tea. Priceless.
In life, please take and remember it always, or give and have no memory of it.