simple times

As I was going through some of our photos tonight, I came upon this one. It made me stop and think about life – life now and life years ago. These little children – these cute little barefoot kids – grew up in a very modest home. Times were always hard. Two of their homes had honest-to-goodness dirt floors. They did not have a lot. For play time, they made their own toys from found objects. For art, they drew in the dirt. Shoes and clothing were hand-me-downs. They made the best with what they had. There was always a hot meal on the table, even if it was only corn bread in warm milk.

My mom shares stories of her life as a kid. One of the stories that I love is of my grandfather playing his fiddle on the front porch. If grandpa wasn’t fiddlin’, he was strummin’ his guitar or playing a mean harmonica. Now grandpa wasn’t the only musically gifted person, grandma could play a mean harmonica as well. Now you get the two of them together, and it was a knee slappin’ good ol’ time!!

Even though they did not have a lot, the one thing that they always had was love for each other. They were family. They were inseparable. They did not yearn for what others had, as most of those they knew lived simple lives as well. At the end of the day, no matter what, they had each other. Family. Absolute Love. Together. Glue.

This photo is my family. My roots. My foundation. My inspiration. My blessings.

Left to right: My late aunt Sondra, my dear sweet hair-in-braids momma and my uncle Butch. My very favorite photo of my sweet family.