Save like Nana Did. Work and routines.

These posts really have me missing my Grandparents!  Increasingly I appreciate everything they did because they contributed so much to us having a strong family and building good foundations for life.   Everything is built upon good foundations and they were there for us in every way.  

I was brought up in an orderly home and complete lack of chaos. For that I am very grateful.  It led me to believe that children thrive on routines and the safety of knowing what is expected and what is going to happen next.  There is a morning routine, an evening routine,  a bed time routine and it is all a cocoon of safety of sorts.  This is even true for us as adults and the more we can do automatically without having to think about it the easier life is.  Like we don't have to plan to eat breakfast and brush our teeth we just do! 

When my girls were little Mum and I would listen to Elizabeth Elliot tapes (yes tapes)  if we took a car trip together.  I absorbed a lot of beautiful lessons from these.  I remember one where Elizabeth warned of the chaos and constant hurry little children can be under.... "hurry up and eat", "hurry up and put your shoes on",  "hurry up... "  because little kids seem to have one speed and it is meandering.  It made me conscious of being organised,  planning well, doing things the night before,  because I myself am not much better than a toddler in the mornings anyway!   I tried to keep things calm and happy as I could.     Through chronic migraines and other health issues at times,  single parent hood,  too many crafts, too much sewing and giant projects I would take on ....  I MOSTLY stayed on top of things thanks to habits,  routines and planning.   

Mum can remind me of some of how Nana and Pa ran things but I can remember a lot since I had my Grandparents until my mid thirties.   Nana and Pa both had their routines and I remember Pa heading off for work and Nan would attack the housework at high speed after breakfast.  I know she had a daily routine ie Monday washing, Tuesday dusting,  Wednesday,  floors and so on.  Washing was a very big day.   Lunch was very often cooked.  There were errands,  gardening, shopping etc that all had a routine as well.  Nana was the youngest of thirteen children.  After lunch she would visit one of her sisters.   This involved a cup of tea,  baking,  exchanging home grown veggies and so on.   Then it would be back to work.   Dinner was quite early and evenings were for relaxing. 

Mum, who is in her 80's now,  still achieves an enormous amount and cooks for her Grand daughters and Great Grandkids...  has her routine.   More and more I have come to appreciate this.  Dad worked into his eighties also with his routine.   He believed many people did not work well because they did not eat well.   Both of their days were orderly with breakfast, cups of tea,  a morning of work.  They both had a cup of tea mid morning.    Also a lunch break with something good to eat and drink.  Then back to work!  An afternoon tea break...    then finally knock off and prepare dinner.   Mum will do some watering /gardening after dinner in summer when it is cooler to be outside.    Dad used to attend to paperwork and so on.

The routine would also take the weather into account.   Sewing and quieter work were suitable in the heat of the day.   Also when tired from cooking or gardening I remember Nan would sit and do some mending or even sit and get the veggies prepared for dinner.   

So it seems like a lot of breaks!  My natural tendency is to get stuck into something,  forget what time it is, forget to eat and drink and then end up feeling terrible and falling in a heap.  But I have proven over and over my Grandparents orderly routine wins.   I will enjoy my day,  feel better and get more done overall by keeping a happy routine and taking breaks.   

This all is not to say my Grandparents didn't have leisure time.  They did and they were very social.   They were great friends with neighbours who would all meet across the road at the local tennis courts in the evenings.   They loved the football and we would go on drives and picnics.   Nana had a group of friends who would get together to spin and knit.  I loved joining in on those days!  It was happy, chatty and creative!   They enjoyed weekends and Sundays was a great family day with us all gathering for a family lunch after church.    

It is really true that the wise woman builds her home.   She watches over her household.   She is diligent.  She is prudent.  There is a point.   Her work influences GENERATIONS.  Your work is valuable.  xxx