Smoky Mountain Colors

Monday, November 21, 2005

Learning from past generations

My Great-Grandma was first generation American. She was raised in a part of Eastern US, that was pretty rough. One side of the mountain was Virginia and the other was Kentucky. Her family came from Scotland as did my Great-Grandpa's. When we visited her she always made it a point to get me up early (before sunrise) and she would all ready have me a special breakfast made and a little cup of tea and I ate while she wrote in a journal and we talked. When I think back at it, that was the only time in my life I liked getting up early. I never really knew until she passed exactly what she was writing but she would tell me that every morning she liked to start the day with quiet time for her, she used that time to be mindful of what was around her, being thankful for who and what was in her life even the trials were something to be thankful for. It was her time of the day to slow life down and experience her connection with her beliefs. After she passed we found several boxes marked with my name on them. Those boxes were filled with her journals. I can't begin to share all the wisdom that she had and poured into her writing. But I thought since we are coming up on Thanksgiving and a known stressful time of the year I would encourage all of us, to use our knitting time to de-stress, to relax, to be mindful of what is really important to each of us. I try to daily while knitting to list in my mind the things that I'm thankful for each day. It's almost like a meditation for me. It's not always easy to do but it is worth it and it's very helpful in keeping what's important in the forefront.

Happy knitting to you

4 comments:

kim said...

That is such a beautiful posting...so fitting for this time of year. Your grandmother sounded like a very special (and wise)c lady.

Anonymous said...

What a nice thought. Yesterday my kids and I watched three movies together while I knitted a sweater (part of one) for my middle child. I was and am very thankful for that time.

RheLynn said...

That is a wonderful story, thank you for sharing it. What a legacy your Great-Grandma created for you!

Noey D. said...

What a beautiful post! Thanks for sharing it with us!