How The Heck Are They Called "The GOOD Old Days?”

Kenna

When I was pregnant with Timmy, Little Grandma came to town. She lived in Idaho and traveled to see all of her children and their children. She had 125 grandchildren at the time. You see she had 14 children and twelve were living in 1967. The folks called and asked if she could come over and help me make a quilt for the baby. She brought the fabric, batting, frame and yarn.  We called her Little Grandma because she was truly little, 4 feet 10 ½ inches to be exact. She had snow white hair that she wore in a cute little bun on the top of her head. When she took her hair down at night it was very long, down to her waist. 

While we sat tying that little quilt she told me about making bread and keeping the yeast start on the top of the wood burning stove and how she would add flour and water from the potatoes to it. She always had yeast that way.

She told me about the olden days when she had baby’s. She told me how her tiny baby Rosetta had died because the midwife had told her not to give her any liquids for her fever. As we know now that was not good advice. The baby seemed much better at bedtime so she put the baby next to her in bed to keep her warm but in the morning she found that the baby had died.  She explained that they always slept with the baby to keep them from freezing from the cold in the night.

She told me that her twelve year old Leo had Rheumatic Fever and got so sick that the doctor told her to put his bed in the front room so that he could see all of his family before he died. He did die and that was so sad for them all.

I asked her “How could you stand loosing those babies, your heart must have broke.”

She said “You have to handle it,  you just have to handle it.”

I understand now but how in the heck are they called "The GOOD old Days?”

Love Grammy T.