Grandma Tee's Thoughts ( My first autobiographical paper on something I am passionate about).

I grew up in troubled times, it was just after the great depression and things were still pretty tough for too many people. Then  World War II came to America, our country was under terrible strain. People did what they had to do to survive. There was no actual fighting in America, but almost everyone had a relative in the fight.  As a small child I remember the fear when they came to our home and said my brother had been hurt.  He was in the Navy in the South Pacific, they told us he was alive but had been wounded.  But to a four year old that fear of the unknown was there, I believe that the fear of loss taught me to hold my family close, this has stayed with me to this day.
Both of my parents had an 8th grade education. they were self education,reading the newspapers, listening to the radio, I did not realize until I was older how much they had learned just living life, learning as they went. They knew how to survive, how to do what had to be done and still teach us right from wrong. As I grew into an adult and years passed I realized more and more the "old fashioned" sayings that mom would say were so true, "do unto others" comes to mind.
We did not get spanked but we knew the rules. I did get a swat on my behind once when I frightened my mother. At age five I was climbing on roof of the neighbor's chicken coop and the siren went off. The other older children got down and ran home and there I was stuck, and frightened of heights, I sat there crying, when my older brother came and found me and took me home. Mom must have been pretty upset because my dad, who never disciplined us children, gave me a swat on my back side and said," do not ever scare your mom like that again", and I never did,.
There was the respect for your elders that was engrained into us,  we would never think of calling someone older than us by their first name, to do so would be rude. The the familiarity that we see and hear today is down right disrespectful, I often wonder who is teaching them manners, who is teaching  these soon to be adults respect.
As I grew into a teenager, then an adult and started my own family, I brought with me certain unbreakable rules of life.  Respect every one in a way you would want to be treated. Above all I was taught no one owes you anything, if you want something  work for it. At age fifteen I was babysitting buying my own clothes, what I could not afford to buy I made , not realizing it was teaching me to be responsible.
I taught my children there was no end of possibilities for them as they grew. I encouraged them to be individuals, each with special and unique talents. They grew up and married and had children and I must say that when I see them raising their children with the basic values they were taught, that is when I know I had done a good job.
As time passed and society's values changed, I have to wonder what happened how so many people seemed to lose those very basic rules of life. There are so many young people struggling through life trying to survive, making the wrong decisions., creating havoc in their own lives and others. Many of them have babies while they are babies. Where is the guidance that these young people with babies need? Then we have the killing in the large cities Black on Black, brown on brown, black on brown and all of them fighting, shooting, and killing the white young men included, maybe not as many but they are as lost as the different ethnic young men are.
I  have to shake my head at the excuses our government gives or the that they ignore the reason all of this is happening. For what ever reason Public housing, welfare food stamps help create a loss of respect for themselves. Then apathy sets in and the hopelessness of no future grows.
When we will we wake up  and  see the damage we have done to  the future of our country. We need to get back to the basics, manners, respect for others, work ethics, responsibility, we can not ignore these young people and then expect them to know how to be  adults with a future.
We have young people that graduate from high school and still can not read, they can not write a proper sentence.  Again where is the basics that should be taught in schools? As a student a long time ago, in the 1940s and fifties we were taught the basics then when we went into higher grades more subjects were added. In fact I went to thirteen different schools and when I started ninth grade. I did not let it stop me from learning as much as possible. I was was taught knowledge can take you anywhere you want to go in life, that truth was reenforced in every school I went to.
We are failing our young people. I am not saying that everything was perfect, there were good teachers and bad teachers even back then .In fact when I was in a new school in fourth grade my teacher told me in front of the class that I was too dumb to learn anything and I ran out of the room crying, while she screamed you come back here.  Fortunately  the principal that found me  sobbing my  broken heart out, comforted me and got  what happened, then he  took care of the situation. From that time one I never allowed anyone to call me dumb again.  It started me on a life long journey of learning everything I  could.
So what has changed since the 1950s? Trying to add too much in the way of electronics, rewriting history to make it more PC  creates confusion. Of course there is learning disabilities which makes it hard for  the child to learn. The  way  these children spend more time going to different rooms to different teachers repeating the same boring information that they will never use. What happened to the teacher having the patience to allow that slower student the time he or she needs to comprehend the subject matter. Of course we need  teacher assistants to be able to work one on one with a slow learning child, but is shuffling them from room to room teaching them to feel good about themselves? Will it help them to grow into positive role models for their children or will they be the ones that are out there making the bad decisions.

Thursday Thankful

Things to be thankful for, is a good theme for today. I am  very thankful for each and everyone of my family. For the friends I have  through out my life.  I can not count a lot of friends , but I can count the ones that have great meaning to me. People collect friends, like something they can show the world they have value.. I have found that we have value no matter. People come into our lives for a reason, for that I am thankful. I am thankful for what health I have, at my age any health is sign that I woke up this morning. I can vent and complain about aches and pains, but  sometimes they are the  only topic I can think of.  If I am busy they are forgotten for a while and that is a good thing.
I am very thankful for my memories, as we age they are like reading a good book. there is always some sadness, pain, laughter, love, disappointment but they are our own and no one else’s. I like remembering the good times and sometimes I have to drag  out the not so good ones. But even the not  so good ones are what makes me who I am.
I am thankful that I have a home, a warm fire when I need it. It might not be fancy, but it suits me .A bit wacky, old of style and comfortable. That does sort of describe  me also. Well they say that you start to look like your partner and my home has been my partner , my fortress, a safe haven  and never failing me, so if we seem to be alike that  is okay.
I remember as a child when I had a lot of fears and with good reason, I am thankful a lot of the fears did not happen. There were times as a child that I should not have been afraid but I was and children should not have to go through that. I am here now and  a grand mother and great grand mother. I have survived most of what I feared. Packed them up and put them where they belong in the mostly not  thought about memories. I am thankful that I want to remember the good.
I am thankful for the dreams I still dream and the ideas that I know I could do  if I was able to do them. A good imagination a wonderful gift from God and I exercise it  frequently. In fact  my writing is a bright? Idea I had one day and here I am doing it.
I am thankful that I met someone  that showed me my potential. The potential I always had but  thought was lost. He showed me there is no limits to what a person can do if they want to . It just takes the dream to try, so I will keep on dreaming and trying.