By Doris Schroeder
There is certainly nothing boring about the days we are living in now, is there? It does seem, however, that people can get upset easier and are more apt to speak their mind when we see so many bad things happening in the world.
I was going through some old columns from the early nineties of the last decade and see all the changes that have come into our lives again. Perhaps we should put on some rose-colored glasses.
When I look back to my earlier days as a child, I seem to recall many drab colors in our surroundings, even though they seemed bright enough at the time. I do know our family home was never color coordinated. We were fortunate to have an old brown stuffed sofa and chair and perhaps an old axminister rug to cover the floor . The old pot-bellied stove in the middle of the room was certainly not a conversation piece. The flowered wallpaper did not jibe with the flowered rug and the lace curtains at the windows were always an off-white.
The big family table in the kitchen was covered with an oilcloth table covering and would occasionally come in some other color than gold or brown. The kerosene lamp in the middle of the table lent a silent sentinel of light to the room, good for reading if you worked at it. It also lent eerie shadows to the rest of the room and certainly did not add color. And yet…how I enjoyed the evenings when our family of four sat around the dimly-lit table in the evening and shared our day’s episodes with each other with a cup of hot tea. To me, the old farm kitchen took on a golden glow.
Dad would tell about his work at the Sam Schneider Oil Co. in Hutchinson, I would tell about the kids at Sunrise School. The most fun, however, was when Mom would tell about her exploits as a country school teacher in years gone by. Her eyes would get big and expressive as she told about some of the pranks of the older boys in the upper grades. There were probably no dull moments in those country schools of the past. The teacher had to keep on her toes at all times to manage all eight grades, be the janitor, play ground supervisor, nurse, all rolled into one.
Even though I didn’t wear glasses at that time, and though the teacher said I needed them, I had my own imaginary rose-colored glasses. Dad always promised we would get some “after harvest” and since I didn’t know any better, that was fine with me. A big imagination was a big help.
The colors we wore were no different, grays and browns were popular with an occasional flower-splashed print in the feed sack dresses handmade by Mom, I wore. No wonder I was somewhat serious in those days!
As I got older on the farm and made it through the 6th grade, I must have talked my Mom into buying me a red wool dress for Christmas with black suede shoes. Perhaps she got the money from her well-to-do parents, I don’t know, but I felt like a young lady queen, with a little pride, I’m sure, although I did try to hide it.
The dress was a bluish-red wool and buttoned down the front and had a matching belt. I felt like a queen at the Sunrise and church Christmas program and now as I look back, wonder why I didn’t trip on my black suede heels, but I didn’t.
Now, as the world has changed and there is more color around, we are more apt to voice our feelings about life. Bright hues have entered our lives in the form of living and does make life more cheerful. Colors can affect our feelings and our general well-being. Do you realize yellow can help your memory, orange whets you appetite but green can help you control it?
On the other hand, perhaps many of you feel blue because of the way our world and country is headed. I know this, however, for a fact…since I have Jesus Christ in my life, I have someone who watches out for me, no matter what. I can be “in the pink” at all times and enjoy the world through rose-colored glasses! You can too!
Doris appreciates your comments and can be reached at [email protected]
