Hi all,
How's everyone doing today? I hope you're all doing well and staying safe.
There's something on my mind today. I was having trouble getting to sleep last evening, mostly because I got to thinking about some things that bother me. I was thinking about my Grandparents. As I'm sure some of you already know, I only ever had two Grandparents.
My Dad's Father died when I was age thirteen; my Grandma, died the same day I was born. As for my Mother's Parents, I only ever knew my Grandma and she passed away when I was twenty one years old. As for my Grandpa on my Mother's side, he left when my Grandma was pregnant with my Mother. So, obviously, she never knew him, either.
Even though I only had two Grandparents and they both died when I was still young, one thing I do know for sure, is that they were hard workers. They worked for everything they had. My Grandpa and Grandma, when my Dad was a little boy, ran a hotel restaurant in Wrightsville, Pa. I also know, that before that, my Grandpa ran a bakery.
As for my Grandmother (Mom's Mother), she was on her own for a very long time. Her so called husband, kept leaving her and their children to get by any way she could. She worked exceptionally hard to feed her children, to keep them clothed with a roof over their heads.
So, what I do know about both of my Grandparents, is that they were never afraid of hard work. They would do whatever they had to do to take care of their children, no matter what. They didn't know any other way, except to work hard. They started working when they were still children and worked up until they died. These work ethics are what they passed on to their children.
Now let me tell you about my Parents. My Father worked a full time and a part time job when we were young children. As for my Mom, she went to work, full time, as soon as my Brother started Kindergarten.
My Dad wasn't afraid of hard work. He didn't know any other way of working. He'd do whatever he had to do to keep us clothed, fed and a warm and comforting home to live in. Besides working two jobs, we lived on a small farm and he and my Grandfather raised quite a few vegetables. Of which, we ate, Mom canned, and they took the vegetables in the back of Dad's station wagon and sold from there. In other words, they peddled the food by going up and down the streets of Columbia. Dad was never embarrassed to be doing that. He simply did whatever he had to do. That's what he was taught as a child.
As for my Mom, before she started working outside the house, she canned or froze much of the home grown food. She took care of the house: cleaning, laundry, cooking, caring for her three children. She helped my Father take care of the outside work, as well. We had quite a large lawn to keep mowed in the warm weather. As well as, a whole lot of shoveling of snow during the winter months. Our drive way was extremely large. We had a two car garage, which had to be shoveled. There was always some type of work for my Mom to do on the farm.
She started working outside the home when my Brother was five years old. She went to work at a local sewing factory. She was an excellent seamstress, so that would be the logical place for her to go to work. She worked long hours, sometimes working nine hour days. During the summer months my Sister and I did all the laundry, ironing, cleaned our own rooms, started dinner every week day, worked in the field, babysat my Brother. For this work, we were paid $5. a week by my Mother. Back then, that was a good bit of money.
Basically, what we learned, was that if you wanted to get by in this life, you had to work hard, every day. You needed to work as a family, even as a child. We all had responsibilities, which we had to do regularly. Again let me say that we were taught the value of working hard for what we wanted. Sure, as children, we sometimes complained, but we had to do the work, anyways.
As an adult, I worked hard for most of my life. I was never too proud to take any job, no matter what it was. I was never concerned about what my friends would say or think. Those work ethics were drilled into me, starting as a young child.
This is what I taught my children. We never had much money when they were young, so if they wanted extra things, they had to work for them. My middle and youngest daughters delivered newspapers for money, before they were old enough to go out and get a job. They never worried about what their friends would say or whether they'd make fun of them. They'd do whatever they had to do to earn some money. After their Father and I divorced, things got a lot tighter for me and my daughters. They all had part time jobs at the age of 16, in fact, one of them got working papers, so she could start working at age 15.
So, what's my point? I'm sure you're wondering about that. Well, here it is. I believe that today's generation of kids seems to have a sense of entitlement. I think they believe that things are owed to them, simply because you're their parents. I'm sorry, but that is just so wrong in my eyes.
I'm not saying that all of today's kids are like that, but it seems alot of them are. My feelings are: if you are sixteen years of age, you need to go out and get a part time job. You need to earn some money of your own, so you can purchase those things you want, but truly don't need. You find a job, any job, and stop worrying about what your friends will say. Truly, it doesn't matter what your friends say or think. You are not them, you are you! I strongly believe that families who have money should also make their children go out and get a job. They need to learn how to work hard, how to work hard for the money they make.
I believe that parents today are NOT hard enough on their children. I believe that they are NOT helping their children by pampering them all the time. I'm not talking about child abuse, I'm speaking about a child who is 16 years old. They want to drive and they think you should buy them a car and pay for their insurance. Guess again! All three of my daughters purchased their own vehicles, mostly because I was a single Mom with very little money. The most important thing to me was having enough money to pay all my household bills, insurance bills, and to keep my children in Catholic Schools. If they wanted to have a car to drive, they needed to save their money and purchase their own, which they did.
This is why I am so proud of my daughters. They are all strong, independent middle age women, who work so hard to help support their families. They will do whatever they have to do to make ends meet and to support their families. Most of my Grandsons started working as soon as they turned sixteen years old. Good for them. They took jobs where ever they could get them. Again, good for them.
Well, to sum all this up, I'd have to say that I come from a long line of hard working relatives. They never sat back and expected someone else to take care of them or their families. So many things, such as: good ethics, manners, independence, strength, faithfulness, unconditional love and so many other wonderful things was passed on from one generation to generation. I am so thankful that I was passed these things and that I was able to pass them on to my children and they to theirs.
Okay, I'm done for now. Now you know why I couldn't fall asleep last night. Take care and I hope you will take some time to think about what I've written. Stay safe.
Susan
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