Ancestors: Now and Then

Ancestors: Now and Then

When Stephanie complained because she couldn't find a parking place near the main door to the mall - her great great grandmother had to make her own clothes and grow her own food.

When Buffy complained because she had to work five days a week and couldn't go swimming every day - her great great grandmother worked in her garden six days a week.

When Clara complained because she couldn't have a new dress for her date on Saturday - her great great grandmother had three dresses, one for weekdays, one for Sunday and one put away for her burial.

When Donna complained because it was too warm and humid at the picnic - her great great grandmother cooked and baked for her family over a fireplace, all year round.

When Erica complained because she had to walk three blocks to her friend's house - her great great grandmother walked to town, five miles, and to her closest neighbor's house, three miles, and back, carrying her toddler most of the time.

When Flora complained because she had three children and only two bedrooms - her great great grandmother raised seven children in a two room log house.

When Gayle complained because she had to take time to go to her grandmother's funeral - her great great great grandmother buried her baby in the field back of her house.

When Helen complained because her washing machine broke down and she had to go to the Laundromat - her great great great grandmother washed her family's clothes in a wash tub on a scrub board.

When Irene complained because she didn't have a computer on which to do her homework - her great great great grandmother taught her children to read from the only book she owned, the family Bible, and taught them to write on a piece of slate.

When Joann complained because she didn't get a baby carrier at the shower - her great great great grandmother carried her nursing baby three hundred miles from Virginia to Ohio, and walked all the way.

When Kathy complained because her son's job required him to move to Texas - her great great great grandmother knew when her son left, "to seek his fortune in the West," she would probably never see him again.

When Linda complained because the store was out of her expensive facial soap - her great great great grandmother used lye soap, which she made herself from fireplace ashes and animal fat.

When Melissa complained because the store was out of her favorite brand of plastic diapers - her great great great grandmother had six pieces of cloth for her baby, which she washed as soon as they were soiled, so she would always have a clean one ready.

When Nancy complained because her husband had to go to camp for his National Guard service - her great great great grandmother sent her husband off to the Civil War. He never came back.

When Olivia complained because she had to feed, water and walk the dog she had begged for - her great great great grandmother fed the pigs and chickens, and milked the cows before she prepared breakfast for her family.

When Pamela complained because she didn't have an espresso machine - her great great great grandmother made coffee from chicory.

When Roslyn complained because the number she called didn't answer - her great great great grandmother sometimes, if she was lucky, got one letter a year from her family "back East," her only contact with them.

When Sharon complained because her wedding ring only had three diamonds - her great great great grandmother sold her wedding ring to buy medicine for her sick babies.

When Terri complained because the TV wasn't working - her great great great grandmother watched the sunset for entertainment.

When Vivian complained because there was no hot water for her shower - her great great great grandmother pumped water from the well, carried it inside, heated it on the wood stove, bathed the youngest first and everyone bathed in the same water.

When Wanda complained because she had to take the kids to the Doctor for their shots - her great great great grandmother lost most of her children to mumps, measles, cholera or diphtheria.

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