Humble Beginnings

Last Friday Ben and I hopped in the truck and drove to grandma (wiesinger's) house, to save some furniture from her flooding basement.  The story of this furniture and my grandmother's own humble beginnings as a wife and mother never cease to inspire me.  When she married my grandpa, her father gave her a cow which she sold to buy their first bedroom suite (which I now very happily brought home).  They originally moved to grandpa's parents farm, had a nice house with running water and electricity, but very quickly realized that grandpa couldn't farm because of a bad back, so they pursued their dreams.  My grandpa's dream was to serve people,  which he accomplished by opening an ESSO service station, a few miles north of yorkton.  He served people by pumping gas and fixing cars.  Amazing really to have such a humble dream... he was rewarded greatly with true riches of the love of family and friends, neighbours and strangers, who miss him.  My grandma, lovingly supported her husband and moved into a tiny (really tiny) house with no running water (think outhouse!), and a wood stove. Grandma quickly had 4 young children and by the time they added on they had 6 children.  2 boys and 2 girls in one room, and grandma and grandpa, a toddler and baby in the other room (they had a 7th child after they added on).   The house I visited on Friday was the same house I have visited for all 30 years of visits, and not much has changed.  I sat in the kitchen wondering how on earth we (aunts, uncles, cousins etc) all squeezed around the table for meals and endless card games??  where did we all sleep?? how did we share 2 bath rooms with just cistern water??  As much as the house hadn't changed,  grandpa was no longer there with cribbage board in hand.

  Grandma is talking about moving, the house and yard are too much for just her, the conclusion of a dream.  A dream that continues to inspire. 

I sat with grandma on Friday eating homemade perogies (my favorite traditional diet), she looked at pictures of our broken down house and smiled and said "it is good to have a humble beginning". 

My grandmother does not regret their humble beginning because it was filled with the most important things:  Faith, Love, Laughter, Family, and Good Food!  I am inspired and I hope all of us grandchildren can aspire to these lofty goals.