David and I watched Part I of “The Dust Bowl” tonight and while I thought I knew a lot about that time period, I was still struck by just how disheartening it must have been. I remember my grandmother telling me about how the dust seeped into the houses despite all their efforts to keep it out. She said they’d hang wet tea towels and sheets over windows but the dust still got in. This part of Oklahoma wasn’t *quite* as severely hit as the panhandle area of the state but it was certainly bad enough.
Today I did quite a bit of housework and while it can be a somewhat thankless, repetitive and boring task I can’t help but think how very fortunate I am to be keeping house now rather than during those hard days of the Dust Bowl. I have a washer and dryer, dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, hot and cold running water…luxuries unknown during the early years of my grandmother’s life.
I have more housework to do tomorrow as I prepare for the upcoming holiday and you can be sure I’ll have a totally different attitude as I give thanks for everything I have that makes my life so much easier than that of my grandmother’s generation.
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