Busy Hands

Growing up one of my favorite past-times was visiting my grandparents homes. I'll call them Grandparents B and Grandparents M for this writing. They were all quiet and peaceful people.

The Grandparents M home was interesting as it was filled with antiques and kept me quite busy. There was a big sign by the street "Lela's Antiques".

Each room was decorated with antiques. The front room had the rolled arm sofa that my Grandma had upholstered with hand made needlepoint she had done herself. Her front room also had an old pump organ that really worked, I would play it sometimes as I knew the piano. There were old tables, lamps, footstools, paintings and pictures.

The dining room had a beautiful dining table with claws for the legs, matching chairs, and the big cupboard, called a sideboard. I remember Thanksgiving dinner at that table. Their family room had a right-arm chaise lounge chair and an antique secretary with hutch at the one end of the room and then the regular sofa and TV that Grandpa would relax with. Grandma and Grandpa had two guest bedrooms upstairs that were furnished with antique bedroom sets and their own bedroom had a huge bedroom set with the thick wood. So beautiful!

The basement was especially interesting because there I would see the furniture that needed the repairs or refinishing. Grandpa would do the repairs, they would do the refinishing. I could watch my Grandma doing her needlework for the reupholstering and I loved it.

My Grandparents B home was a more 'usual' home, one that you would more expect to see. I would wander through their home also and see bookshelves full of books. My grandpa loved to read. I would see oil paintings on the walls that my Uncle Ralph had painted. He was a commercial artist in his younger years and he would paint for movies, their posters would be made from these paintings. But the ones hanging on Grandma's wall were much more personal and I loved them, my favorite being an old wrinkled man with an open Bible in his hands .

Grandma would say to me, "come and see this." I would follow her to her sewing room where she had quilts that she'd made for family and friends, "this is for so and so," she would say. She had dolls that she had made and placed on the bed. She would show me something fun she had made and say, "you can have this to do this or that with." She liked the more crafty things.

"We would go to play in their backyard and see gardens of vegetables and fruit trees and flowers. Then my Grandma opened a door at the bottom of the stairs and we saw shelves of bottles with vegetables and fruits. Cans of food stuff and buckets of flour, rice and beans. Grandma and Grandpa loved to have food storage.

Another of my Grandparents B favorite things to do was Genealogy. My Grandma would show me their books and books of family history. Stories she had written of ancestors lives, places they came from and pictures of their homes. Grandma had made a homemade book of poetry that she had written and gave a copy to each of her children. I loved being at their home also.

When I was small I remember my mother working in a Bank and she did until she retired. But one day we were in a store and in the toy section I found a small knitting kit for a child, with instructions on how to knit. I begged my mom for it and we began to learn to knit. I also loved to read. My mother would take us to the Book Mobile, as we live out of town, and it came to the central corner once a week. She would get a little perturbed at me for reading non-stop. That is a bit of anxiety, I guess. I was slow to get the dishes done, clean my room, or practice the piano. I read all of Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Alfred Hitchcock, among many others, and she let me buy many books through the school program.

I still love to read. It has helped me organize my home in that I realized early on that I had to get my 'chores' done before I sat down to read or they most likely didn't get done. A clean home, with things done helps a person stay calm, with far less anxiety. (For sure!) When we were stationed in Germany I read the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings Trilogy. My husband started saying "read it out loud to me." As my kids came along and grew, I would read to them all the time. They loved it. I'd sit in the hall at bed time and they'd be in their beds and I would read so they could hear and we read a ton of books that they remember. They learned to love reading also.

My home was put together with a little of all the things I loved from my grandparents and my mom. I've refinished some furniture to make it better match the decor I had. I've had some antiques, such as an old treadle sewing machine that I made two dresses on. I've found beautiful paintings to add to my walls, including a few that my daughter painted. I've had a garden, where I've had my boys help, bottling some of the produce. I've tried my hand at genealogy. While I have found it interesting, it's not my very favorite thing to do.

My very favorite thing to do is crocheting and knitting. I find it very relaxing and satisfying. I made a ton of articles, baby things, toys, blankets and afghans. I decided to make each of my own children afghans and then each of my grandchildren for their 18th birthdays. I have loved this the most and my children and grandchildren love to receive them!

I have found that what I love to do most is have a home and family and do things for them. And love is the key. To find the things you love to do and make others happy with those things is the most satisfying and anxiety avoiding of things and activities. A wise church leader has said, "Christlike love is the greatest need we have on this planet." (Jeffrey R. Holland Quotes) Another favorite is 'What the World Needs Now' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfHAs9cdTqg . I have been blessed with my favorite things and keeping a heart filled with love has been one of these.