Done with love
Her hands were dry and cracked. They moved with purpose. Strong but gentle. The movements were quick. One chore completed and her hands moved to the next chore.
I spend hours watching her hands. They fascinated me. I wanted to learn how to move my hands in the same way.
I spend as much time as possible on my grandparent’s farm. Sitting for hours, I would watch my grandmothers hands.
Everything my grandma’s hands did was, done with love.
With love, a frameable printable
Watching and Learning with Love
Cooking
One moment, her hands kneaded a large lump of dough. Pinching and rolling into dinner rolls. The next moment her fingers move quickly popping green beans on the front porch.
My grandmother sliced strips of bacon. Standing the slab on end and make quick slices back and forth making each slice the same thickness. I knew that would be hard for me to learn. Would my bacon slices be too thin? to thick? or just a pile of pieces?
Laundry
I enjoyed watching and learning how to do laundry using the old wringer washer. We would roll it to the middle of the back porch. Fill it with hot water and use a washboard with a bar of soap on stains. I knew someday I would need to know how to put clothes through those scary rollers.
The “someday” came
My fear of those rollers grew one afternoon. Aunt Peggy and I were in charge of doing laundry. My eyes fixated on the water squeezing through the bumps of fabric. My fingers worked fast like grandma. Only not fast enough. Those scary rollers grabbed my fingers the rolled up my arm. My aunt quickly hit the reverse button and those rollers spit my arm back out.
Young Thoughts
When I had children, I hoped they wouldn’t like bacon, because I would never learn to cut even slices. AND, our clothes will take hours to dry cause I’m never going near the rollers ever again!
Nowadays
I have a washer without wringers. Bacon and bread come already sliced.
But if need be I could manage.
I do know my chores would be, done with love. No matter the outcome.
Thank you for reading along with me. Click here or above to grab your “done with love” printable.
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Love this and now that I am a grandma/mema/great grandma, I appreciate it so much. I remember my Grandma’s hands as she rolled the dumplings to add to the pot of simmering broth . I remember her knitting every grandchild (15 of us) mittens for Christmas. Wonderful memories that this story brought back as if yesterday. Thank you!
Oh, wow! Having 15 cousins must have been so fun! Thank you for sharing your memories too! I can smell the dumplings. ;D