Counting my father, mother and siblings, the total of our family was eleven. My father had full time employment with a second job on the side and my mother worked six days a week (eight to ten hour days). My father was a mechanic during the day, did janitorial work in the evenings at the University and my mother was a chef. They worked their entire lives, well into their late 60's. They taught us that we could have anything in this life through hard work and with the incentive to improve our lives. It's the effort and desire to excel that brings on success.
We never had health insurance, dental insurance and certainly didn’t have monthly welfare checks coming to our address. We learned how to bandage our own wounds, wrap sprained ankles, gargle with salt water and pull out loose teeth with a pair of pliers. If my parents anticipated running out of money before the end of the month, they carefully budgeted and we made it through! There were great lessons in learning to manage our resources, which instilled a flawless sense of self worth (a valuable attribute that's disappearing from our culture).
We always got a new pair of shoes when school started and if the soles wore out before our toes reached the end, we used duct tape to hold the shoe together. I was the youngest in the family and by the time the hand-me-downs got passed on to me, they were threads. Christmas time, we got one or two gifts, such as new underwear, a coat, or winter boots. We were just grateful for anything that was new and if there happened to be a toy, we were ecstatic!
I don’t remember anyone suffering from depression. We were all too busy to be depressed. As kids, we learned how to mow lawns, clean houses, babysit, plant a garden, pull weeds, chop wood, deliver newspapers, shovel snow, cook, sew, etc., and we didn’t expect a dime for doing these chores. It was our contribution and we are better people today for having done so. We didn’t have a sense of entitlement for anything, we were taught to believe in ourselves and the ability to achieve our own level of excellence.
When I look at our society today, I am shocked at the "sense of entitlement" and the level of apathy that exists. There is a similar laziness that mimics the story of the 'Grasshopper and the Ant.' The ant worked tirelessly to store up for the winter, while the grasshopper ignorantly neglected his personal responsibilities. When winter came, the grasshopper realized that he had nothing and that's when he decided that he deserved to take the ants portion. The grasshopper's laziness had created weaknesses of irresponsible which manifested itself in rationalization, a sense of entitlement, deceit, and theft. He could have provided adequately for himself, but he chose to be less than what he was capable of becoming.
I would like my grandchildren to understand the integrity of their heritage and to follow in those footsteps. I want them to know that the generations before them built this country on the foundation of hard work and integrity. They were a heritage of people who lived the virtue of sacrifice by giving something good (their lives) to make something better (your lives). They were God loving people with patriotism beyond reproach and they are of those whom made this country great! Now, its up to you. Linda Sumner Urza, written for: onefineday11.blogspot.com
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