It’s not just leaves changing around here

Fall is a good time for sprucing up, isn’t it?  Ironically, I find myself in the middle of sprucing up on a much more grand scale than I’d planned but it feels a little more satisfying to be doing it now.  Silly probably but I can’t imagine doing the cleaning and rearranging that’s in front of me now in the middle of the hottest part of Summer or the coldest months of Winter.

Maybe I should fill you in a little more.  Like many people in recent years, my family has had its share of scrapes and bruises from the flailing economy.  At a time when the picture is still very much uncertain, we have been blessed with some small good fortunes.  Soon I’m starting a new job and I’m paring down my online presence to be limited to JUST here in my virtual attic (and deliriously happy to be doing it, I had too many other online projects to be able to give this one all of my attention).  I used to call this Attic my retirement plan but over the last two or three years it became a lynchpin for some income channels that saved our bacon as I’ve searched for a new career path.  Through the rough patches, I have learned to be much more thankful.

Sure we all say that we’re thankful from time to time and we even mean it but there’s nothing like being able to see the bottom of the barrel coming at you at a horrifying speed to teach you to REALLY mean it.  Its a good lesson in today’s culture.  Doing a lot of scratching and clawing to keep ourselves above the surface surely makes the latest gadgets, fashions, celebrity antics and worldly possessions fade right on into the background.

I would say for most of my adult life I only got a fleeting glimpse of deep economic hardship and loss.  Depending on where we fit in the economic spectrum, most of us could pen a check to some charitable cause or other and feel like we were truly making a difference.  I remember trying to figure out how I could make things more meaningful for me and my children.  I didn’t want to take the arms-length approach but working full time and raising children certainly is restrictive on the volunteerism. I also found it frustrating to motivate other people to want to take that same approach, preferring instead to just write the check.  The check writing is good of course and much needed, but it prevents the emotional connection to other people.

These days, we can see the economic hardship up close and personal.  Either right in our own households or just by stepping out the front door and chatting with a neighbor or two.  In my own case it was right here in my own household, talk about a series of unfortunate events …geez It’s been a very eye-opening experience.

I’ve been exceptionally blessed to not have to experience the worst of what hardship can bring.  My family is all safe and happy. I personally know far too many people who aren’t so fortunate.  My heart breaks for them.  It also brings to the front of my mind how life was for my ancestors.

In dabbling in genealogy you can often find yourself crying over the losses experienced in past generations, I do at least.  When I sit back and think about what it must have been like to experience some of the things that have been noted in history only by a birth date and death date, and sometimes not even that, I can’t even comprehend it.  To say life was hard is the understatement of all time.  It’s tough to come out of a couple of hours of that kind of research without being deeply thankful.

I like to read some of Laura Ingalls Wilder every now and then. I loved reading those books when I was in elementary school.  She does a good job of calling out the parts of what must have been an incredibly difficult existence and making it sound all happy and fun.  I think she makes a good example of looking at the blessings and not the misfortune or hardship.  It probably helped considerably that their lives were unfolding out in the woods or wilderness with no neighbors to compare themselves to – funny how we can be different when there are neighbors and peer groups involved   For a large part of the time there were no neighbors or school children to compare herself to, so good enough really was good enough. Good illustration how sometimes things really are all dependent on the perspective.

In the coming weeks I’m looking forward to spending my spare time here in my Attic with friends!!  I found a trove of genealogy goodies to share here and I’ve found several new suppliers for the General Mercantile.  Now, I have to role up my sleeves and get it all into the website so I can share it with everyone !