109 Responses

1. we are big nerds here, too, and we raise that nerd flag high! we love documentaries…. war, animals, history, whatever! sawyer LOVES history and abe lincoln is his hero. he has a shirt with abe on it that i got for him at the rose bowl flea…. it’s getting too small but he still insists on wearing it. and his collection of books may have tons of star wars and ninjago, but he also has a vast collection of president/us history books. he loves franklin, jefferson, henry ford… i love that he loves and appreciates it. as for the memories, it’s interesting what our kids remember. i share a lot of my life and my kids on my own blog because i know that if i leave this earth earlier than i would like, my kids will have that to see the memories we created together and also to see that they meant everything to me. 🙂

2. It matters. I will never understand the stigma attached to staying home with one’s children. Since the advent of modern feminism women have a choice. Nonetheless, just because you CAN do something does not necessarily mean that you SHOULD. Children need their mothers just as much now as they did before women started burning bras!
   If my child grows up to be healthy, confident and happy that is all the thanks I need.

   xo

   Andie

3. Love Ken Burns! That is pretty much the only TV NY parents ever watched and I learned so much from him!

4. For some reason that story of the curtains resonated with me just now. Being a SAHM has it’s rewards beyond measure, but there are times that I wonder what I’m doing washing the same clothes, wiping down the same toilets and cooking the same meals day after day? It does matter! I really need to remember that even if I’m not seeing it now, my children will someday recall these things. So now when I get to feeling ho-hum I’ll remember the Mom who washed the curtains time and time again. 🙂

5. The book “The Worst Hard Time” covers much of the same material as the documentary with many of the same accounts. My Dad had us all read it a couple of years ago, and I will say I had a whole new understanding of why my Grandmother did many of the things she did. It was a great documentary…we’re nerds over here too!

6. I, too, must be a nerd, because I watched that documentary with absolute awe and respect for the people who went through that terrible time. Ken Burns is wonderful; check his documentaries on PBS, a wonderful channel.

7. A refreshing insight! Thanks.

8. Amen!!!

9. We watched the dust. Bowl on PBS… We still talk about it and tell everyone who will listen about it… It was an amazing piece

10. I encourage you, Marian, and all your readers to drive across your beautiful country and see as many National Parks and monuments and states as you can. I cannot believe how many Americans have not been out of their own state. I am a Canadian and have been to about 40 or so states and have seen fabulous sites. There is so much beauty and history out there.

    (I’m a proud stay-at-home mom!)

11. We are self confessed nerds in our home too. Children always remember the things that made them feel loved and special and protected.Caring for our families is important and those mundane tasks need to be done by both parents if you are fortunate enough to have a two parent home.

12. We watched “The Dust Bowl” too. I loved it!! I think there was something about a woman being depressed too. I can imagine if your life revolved around your home and family it would have been so so discouraging. I guess the woman who continued to wash her curtains had Hope and that Hope made all the difference. 🙂

13. Hello!
    It is so crazy how many people watched that documentary. I live in Oklahoma, my husband and his family are from Boise City, OK, in the Panhandle, one of the hardest hit areas. I too was amazed and saddened at the same time. As a matter of fact, I just saw my grandfather this past Friday night and asked if he had seen it. He was born in 1924, so he was of grade school age. His response was, ” No, I don’t like to remember it. I lived it.” I wanted so badly to ask questions, but didn’t. I am an ancestry nerd, so these things fascinate me too! Glad to know so many others enjoyed it as well.

    1. I hope you will approach your grandfather again some time soon and see if you can gently lead him into answering a question or two about that time in his life. If you don’t give it a try, you may soon regret it.

14. What a lovely message.

15. My hubby and I watched that too and we thought it was fascinating. The fact that they hung on through such adversity really amazed me.I don’t know if I could have stuck around when it started affecting my kids, but the entire thing was just amazing.

16. So very well put…. thank you

17. I don’t think it has anything to do with being a working mom or a stay at home mom. That is not the issue…it is that home matters! It is where the family foundations are lived and life is learned. Tragically under valued now days. Sarah

18. I think the curtains helped keep the dust from getting all over the inside of the house. I live in a valley and dirt is contantly blowing. Even though we have good windows and curtains there will still be dirt all over the window sills all the time.

19. I needed to hear that today as I power through another round of really mundane tasks. Thank you.

20. This post made me think of one of my favorite books… well, I guess it would be more accurately called meditations. It is a precious little book and I know that you would love both the words and the photographs immensely!! It is titled “Being Home” by Gunilla Norris… discovering the spiritual in the everyday. It beautifully talks about those very repetitive, often mundane tasks we all do daily like sweeping and taking out the trash and points out how they are truly acts of service and opportunities for reflection, etc. Sigh. I think it is available on Amazon if you are interested 😉

21. read or re-read the “grapes of wrath”, this book has stuck with me since high school.
    the hardships, the dust, the poverty. and you are right, every little thing we do for others is worth it. thankyou!

22. Thank you for sharing! I needed to hear this today…

23. I too love this kind of documentary. I have a bit of an affinity to that period even though I didn’t live through it myself. My father did and he told us stories about his childhood. But also we were very poor, growing up in the mountains of Montana with nothing but an outhouse and no indoor running water. My mother would somehow keep our home clean and wash our sheets every week. Hanging them outside to freeze dry! I admire her for her fortitude. Making due with so very little. Every time I feel deprived at all I think of what she did and feel very pampered. I lived in a very small 1100 sq ft house for years with six children, but realizing I had more than my mother ever did kept me going without too much complaint. So you see your children will remember the little things you did for them and that is what is important in the long run.

24. Haven’t seen this series,yet, but if you want to read a fascinating book about the dust bowl years and the effect on weather, everyday life, etc. read “The Children’s Blizzard”–I’m also a nerd…..

25. Sharon, I just started to say “The Grapes of Wrath” is also a compelling history of this very sad and horrific time in our history. I will certainly watch for Ken Burns documentaries. We enjoy a well produced one.

    I think it’s special the man remembered his mother washing curtains over and over again. For her, I think it helped her keep things as normal as possible for her family plus the health side of it. Being as normal as possible during horrific times, is therapeutic! I grew up in west Texas during the 50’s and 60’s where we still had bad sand storms, but nothing like the Dust Bowl years. We taped our windows shut to try to keep dust out. It helped, but we still had dust everywhere and on everything. I cannot imagine those times.

26. The dust bowl documentary was truly a testament to human perseverence, strength and hope. It was simply unfathomable what they endured.

27. Great series! My husband’s father was an “Okie” who moved to California with his family when he was a child. I never knew the prejudices they faced after their arrival to California. It gave me great insight into his family. Thanks for posting this! — Pauline

28. I used to wonder, fiercely, what everyday day-to-day living was like during the Depression. How did these women handle the everyday tasks?

    I’ve come to learn it all firsthand, though. For the last 5 years we’ve had our own struggle of the same nature–no income for 8 months, and then such a drastic decrease; we have made 75% less than we did in 2006 and I have learned to do things differently. We went a year without buying ANYTHING–not food, not diapers for our 3 in diapers–and I’ve learned to grow a better garden, sew and mend better than before, make over clothing, make things from scratch that I never dreamed of making from scratch, and continously cut expenses until I could feed my family of 9 for $100 a month these last two years.

    The hope part is VERY important. There is beauty and joy amidst the struggles. There is great satisfaction in making your own bread, in watching your lettuce sprout and then come to your table, in making over hand-me-downs, in learning new sewing skills to make clothes and gifts.

    My oldestchild is 11 years old. already she makes gifts for her friends and for her siblings. My children excitedly look forward to their birthdays and Christmas and whatever homemade gifts I make for them.

    Our struggle has made me more aware of the needs of others, as it has given me a chance to serve others who are struggling financially. My website is for that purpose, and I have been amazed at the stories of struggles that others have shared with me, as they have continued to struggle with income cuts, unemployment, and rising costs.

    The best comment I received recently was from a reader who said she thought she was going to have no Christmas gifts for her family this year. She said that the gifts I showed her on my blog allowed her to make gifts using what she had on hand, and what she thought was going to be the worst Christmas turned out to be one of the best.

    Another reader commented that her husband commented that the gift that she made for her husband was, according to him, the BEST gift she had ever given him.

    I’ve seen hopelessness turn to hope in my readers, as they’ve cut their food bills drastically (while eating better!), learned to make due, learned to garden and cook.

    Our children DO notice. They remember far more than we think. If we teach them, they learn those skills of hard work, too.

    This was a wonderful post, Marian. Thank you for your words.

    1. Thanks so much for this beautiful comment. I haven’t ever been pushed to be so tight, but we did have a Christmas where we gave coupons to each other like “dinner of your choice” or “back massage” and everything I gave my little boy was free or bought at yard sales. It was a challenge, but was really a sweet time, too.

29. I was able to watch some of it…I didn’t get to finish watching can’t remember why…but your last point about the Mom washing her curtains; reminds me of the first time I went to Mexico on a Mission Trip with my church.
    We stayed at an orphanage so you know I saw lots of things that left an impression. But I remember the first night we shared our impressions of the day…One of the houses in the orphanage backed up to my window near my bunk…I remember seeing the HOUSE MOM…throw her dish water out on to the patch of dirt…where grass should have been, in my opinion. Then she took a really worn and quite USED broom and swept it. She swept that water all around the mud… smoothing out the sand. Packing it down.
    So it wouldn’t blow and creep back inside.
    As the week went on—I recalled all the times, I had to leave the orphanage and go in to very poor neighbor hoods and how I saw this scene being played out time and time again.
    It made me cry; that week.

    Thanks for sharing this.
    Pat

30. It is truly a blessing when we pull those memories out that our Mother’s left behind!!

31. What an incrediable thought provoking post. We should never give in to the idea that what we do for others and ourselves ,is not important every single day! Thank you for that reminder.

32. Oh, my gosh! How I wish I could reach across the miles and slap a huge high 5 on you in celebration of our mutual nerdiness! LOVE this documentary. This is my land. These were my people. And you are absolutely right that their refusal to give in, or to become uncivilized, their determination to maintain HOME….these are things I still cling to today. Thank you for this post. You touched my heart.

33. This is so encouraging today as I power through laundry, grocery shopping and doing dishes. It never ends and can be so monotonous. But on the other side it means we have homes full of those we love and every material thing we need and more! Such a great reminder that it is meaningful!

    By the way, I’m giving away one of your books today on my blog. I love it so and had to share!!

34. Without Dorthea Lange’s vivid and extraordinary photographs, that documentary would have fallen flat. She was an exceptional woman and photographer and, but for her, entire portions of our USA history would be lost forever.
    I believe it was General Eisenhower, touring a concentration camp at WWII end, who told his staff photographer, “Take plenty of pictures because in fifty years some SOB is going to say “this never happened.”
    Life is in the details. When we forget that, we forget how to live.

35. You are not nerds.It is another reason are drawn to you. The important things of life matter to you. It is very evident that the HolySpirit is alive and very active in you. It helps a lot to be reminded that what we women do matters.I heard a story that husbands who get a kiss before they go to work from their wives live longer and are better workers than those that don’t get a kiss. The same is true when they come home. They love that we stop what we are doing and the kiss makes what they did at work seem more worthwhile. Another thing I’m doing is wearing a painting suit over my clothes so that I can look half decent for him instead of always being paint clothes. Does anybody else have some tricks up their sleeves to enjoy the mundane of life?

36. P. S. The U.S. Library of Congress sells photos by Dorothea Lange, Diane Arbus, Margaret Bourke White, Eisenhower’s staff photographer, Ansel Adams and a host of others.

37. We watched that documentary too. It was especially meaningful since my mother lived in weather ford, OK at that time. I am past my child rearing years, but my kids still tell me things I said or did that stuck with them. I keep my 7 year old granddaughter now, so I guess I can still share a few things. I live in the part of Texas where Lubbock occasionally blows by. I cannot imagine what those poor families endured.

38. I also had to comment to Brandy about what she wrote. Her story of struggle and her willingness to see through God’s eyes helped me more than she will ever know. You are helping so many of us Marian with our different struggles. I hope God continues to use you in this way.

39. I too was VERY moved by watching this two part documentary a few months ago!! I learned so much by watching! What an impression it made! Very well done….so informative!

40. Very well written from the heart as well as the “pen”…does anyone use those any more??
    Life does have its struggles and I believe this: the strength of a woman is not measured in her arm or leg muscles, it is measured in the strength of the most important muscle we have…the heart. I said this at the memorial for my closest friend here in Dallas who passed away 3 yrs ago yesterday…a strong, strong woman. I am guessing she’d be washing curtains every day too. Beautiful story and thank you for sharing it today.

41. Well said. We here in Oklahoma count ourselves as very hardy people. We have to be. We often deal with nature’s fury. ….But all these years later, yes, our homes DO still matter. Lori Lucas from Oklahoma

42. Great blog today, it must have been very hard and challenging times, men that wanted to work but no work; animals dying with no feed or water; women with their children trying to feed, cloth and keep their family alive. My daughter is over 35 years old and her most vivid memory of her childhood is going to sleep hearing my sewing machine running. She said it lulled her to sleep. We were having hard times, I worked during the day and made her clothes and craft items to sell at “bazaars” as they called them then for extra money. After everyone had gone to bed, I would get all my sewing out on the diningroom table and sew until sometimes early morning and start the day all over again. My daughter is an avid and wonderful sewer now and sells her items she makes for children on Etsy. So it is a nice memory for my daughter without realizing it meant food on the table or to keep our family going. Thank you for sharing your thoughts today, Marian and inspiring us all.

43. Yes, well. My favorite people in the world are nerds. 🙂

    We too love Ken Burns’ documentaries. The Civil War premiered when I was pregnant with our oldest son. I still get all tingly every time I hear “Ashokan Farewell.”

    Thank you for the reminder that what we do really does matter. Now that my boys are mostly grown up, I can tell you that you’re absolutely right.

44. I’d seen stories of the dust bowl experience from time to time, but until Ken Burns pulled it all together in his documentary (as only he seems to be able to do) I never had a full appreciation of what it was like for those who actually lived it.

    By the way, another Burns documentary that not many people seem to know about is “Not for Ourselves Alone” that tells the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and their work for women’s rights. It was first released in 1999. If you haven’t seen it, please find a copy and watch it. It’s hard to imagine where us gals would be today if not for those two incredibly dedicated women…

45. Growing up with grandmothers who lived through that time,I wish I would have learned more,but one thing that always stuck. The appreciation for the littlest of pleasures.Plus their importance on education, my Dads mom all 5ft and a quarter was the sweetest taskmaster,every day when Dad came home his mom had a indian tablet ready with row after row of numbers…add,subtract then multiply and divide….then the books all the classics…My Dad was the smartest person I have ever known,he could look at a ledger and saw the problem right away. He always said his Mom was the reason.

46. Marion, Thank you for this today…you are a very sweet person and this post just prooves it! I raised two girls now both grown with homes of their own…you bet they watched everything I did! I bought the Grapes of Wrath not long ago, since I hadn’t seen it since high school (OK, 40 yrs), and I can’t get it out of my mind. How they came here (California) for a better life and some were turned away others lived in camp type housing worked hard for very little money…such a said time in American History. Brandy’s post from the Prudent Homemaker is a testimony to how resourceful we can be as women when we put our minds to it! And you never know when that time might come. I live about an hour from Yosemite National Park. I can remember as a child when we had family come from Mississippi, we always took them to see the big sequoias and the beautiful water falls. We have plenty to appreciate here in the USA! Only other place I’d like to visit is Canada. I’ll be sure to watch the Dust Bowl Documentary, thank you.

    XOXO,

    June G.

47. Marion,

    You are not alone in nerd-dom. We love documentaries and I will watch them on how tires are made, and the migration of anything. But American history is probably one of my favorites. I will be sure to watch the film, and I cannot agree more. Each wiped nose, dried tear, washed sock all matters. My Grandma was raised during the Great Depression, and had a huge influence in my life. Because of her, I know how to be frugal, what nylon and sugar rationing were, and how to be a nurturing mom. She always said “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” The influence we have on our family, community and church is quiet sometimes but powerful!

    xo, Tanya

48. Oh my gosh, we’ll have to find that show. Ted and I both love stuff like that, i guess we’re geeks too. It’s really so cool to hear that the little things we do, the every day stuff we think get completely lost in the muck, turn out to be some of the things that will be remembered.

    Cindy

49. Absolutely it matters! That’s why we do what we do as to God, not to man! What a wonderful post.

50. Our college adopted Carolyn Henderson’s book, Letters from the Dust Bowl, for our common reader this year. She is the woman from Texhoma who was well-educated and homesteaded her land. She is often quoted in the documentary. We are located in the Texas Panhandle, in a place still seeing the effects of the Dust Bowl (and today, the wind is blowing 50 mph, and the sky is dark from the dust), and we felt it was important for our students to know more about the culture of their home and why we are the way we are. The experience has been amazing, and many of the students noticed exactly what you did: people somehow managed to live their lives and find the things that kept families together. They did not give up on being kind, thoughtful human beings, and they refused to succumb to living in squalor, even when they had nothing more than water to wash those curtains.

    I love that you found in the film the very nature of the people living through it. Machiavelli said in “The Prince” that a prince should never, never confiscate a person’s land. Kill his wife, kill his children, but never take his land because it was the only thing he had that would endure. It helps us understand why so many people stayed through the Dust Bowl, rooted in their land. Kudos to you for posting this tribute to mothers who choose to keep things stable in the midst of chaos.

    1. Yes, I love her quotes used in the film. She seemed like a sharp lady who really knew how to string a sentence together.

51. We love Ken Burns. My husband and I watched his Civil War series when we were dating, and then went to visit some of those historical places while traveling across the US to attend a friend’s wedding. We still talk about that trip. — Thanks for tipping your hat to the housewife.

52. Marian, I like documentaries, too. I also like biographies. I guess that makes me a double nerd. 😉 That’s amazing about the dust bowl. I’ve heard that term but no little about it.

53. i also love to watch the docs. that Ken Burns does he brings the humanity into it. this story really touched my heart. these people didn’t know the word “give up” they truly were a strong people. to lose everything and keep going. that age produced such strong willed people. my mom was a widow with eight children. when my father died she would not take government aid, was too proud. worked 2 jobs to feed & clothe us for many years. so many of our parents came from that same stock. thanks for insight.

54. Marian, thanks for the reminder… There are those days when I think, “How many times have I made this bed, washed this dish, folded this towel…” but I’m blessed to even have that opportunity! I need to laminate this verse and hang it everywhere in my home:
    Colossians 3:23 Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters.”
    Have a great week!

55. How is it that you always end up talking about something that seem spot on with me. I was just having a conversation with my husband about mundane, repetitive tasks. There are days when I enjoy the comfort of doing something I know how to do, the way I want to do it. Then are those other days when every aspect of those very same tasks seems to gnaw at my patience and appreciation. It’s hard to imagine the challenges those people endured and thank goodness for the people who help us remember.

56. Geeks are in…..strange but true. I will watch a documentary on anything and at anytime. I just watched one called “Craigslist Joe” about a guy who lived off the goodness of others he found on Craigslist for 3 months. He even made it across country and back with nothing more than a laptop and a Smartphone. Yep, I will watch a anything in the documentary category.
    Ken Burns is the best though. How many other documentary makers have become a household name? Amazing if you consider it. If you haven’t already, you should watch the series he did on Jazz music. You will buy all the Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Ella, and Louie you can get your hands on,….and thank him for it. Good stuff!!!

    1. Yes, I saw that one on Craigslist. It was really interesting.

       1. Marian – the more I read your blog the more I feel I have a kindred spirit in you. I actually found and bought your book before I knew who you were. The book really has inspired me. And I also love Ken Burns documentaries. If schools would use his films to teach kids about our American history I believe they would really appreciate the country we live in. I am such a visual person and I really do not like to read, but I could watch one of Burn’s films one after another.

57. I might be a nerd as well. I enjoy documentarires. I might be strange , I enjoy washing dishes and washing clothes/folding clothes. They somehow keep me calm and relaxed.

58. LOL – I guess I am a REAL nerd. I love the history channel, biographies, and documentaries. And believe it or not – I like ironing! I inherited some of my grandmother’s gorgeous all cotton linens with embroidery and crochet trim. I just use them on my guest room bed, but I love ironing them and then making the bed with those lovely, freshly ironed linens. Laundry and ironing is a great time to pray for your family as well – no one wants to help with those tasks, so they leave me in quiet in the laundry room! 🙂

59. Thanks for that today….I really needed a reminder that being a mom and the mundane tasks I do day in and day out are important. Just a few hours ago I was telling my oldest that 16 years of the “routine” was wearing on me and I was tired of the same old same….His response (typical 16 year old) “It’s not my fault you had 4 kids”…..then me….”I’m not blaming anyone, just saying it would be nice to know that what I do actually makes a difference since all it seems to be is more of the same.” After all, the dishwasher was running and the sink was full of dishes again, the dryer was done, but the washer and hamper were full, as always, I had just been to the grocery but we apparently had “nothing to eat”, etc, etc…..clearly you understand 🙂

60. We saw that documentary too. It was amazing and an eye opener. So much to learn from those people. I think everyone should see it.

61. EXACTLY what I needed to hear today!! Bless you!

62. Thank you.

63. I clicked on your link to “The Dust Bowl”. It looks like it is a video clip only. Do you have a link to the full episode? I would love to watch it.

64. That was a great documentary. I learned a lot.
    I got to meet Ken Burns a few years ago. He gave one of the most inspiring talks I’d ever heard on philanthropy. I used to have a copy…wonder where I put that? 🙂

65. My children are now in their 30s. They DO remember all the things I did for them including a birthday party for the cat. Many days I was far from a perfect parent and longed for the day that I no longer had to clean up after three children. Now I wish I had those days back. (-:
    Your children will remember the most amazing things and appreciate you more than you know. Now I have 8 sweet little grand babies to love. Maybe we need to have another birthday party for the cat.

66. The little things really do matter. For instance, I had this dime-store “happy Birthday” banner I had hung for each birthday, as long as the kids were here. I hung the banner the last time Andrew was home and he said, “I knew you’d have that up!”. That made me so happy that he had always noticed and loved the little traditions. I hope to keep sharing with grandchildren one day!
    Cheers!,
    Barbara

67. I think it was Ruth Graham (Billy Graham’s wife) that had a sign in her kitchen that said “Divine services performed here daily” !

68. I love that perspective, thank you for sharing it with us! As stay at home moms, we tend to diminish the importance of what we do. I always love reminders like this!

    One of my friends is a Christian artist and he has a song called, “If ever you worshiped” which is about this very thing. I absolutely love it!

69. I’m starting my own business because of my passion for home decor and restyling furniture, but also because it gives me the opportunity to work from home and take care of my two little boys. Because I know it matters. A few years ago my oldest son said ‘Mom, I think it’s great that our king allows all mothers to stay at home on Wednesday afternoons so we can play outside and have an ice cream together.’ (They don’t have school on Wednesday afternoon, for your information :-)) I had to explain him that the king of Belgium has nothing to do with my decision to stay at home on Wednesday afternoon, and that not all mothers do so.

    1. I remember that from living there growing up. I also remember my Mom getting the “Mother’s Money” cheque. I’ve always wondered if they still do that.

70. Such an awesome post I really needed to hear this today (or should I say this morning) thanks a ton for sharing because I believe it does matter ……

71. Every day after work I go home to start the things I couldn’t do while at work,laundry,dishes,dinner,picking up,etc. I was so angry that I had to keep doing all of this ,it never was done. I told my Mom this and she said “Mary,it will never be done. You will always have those things to do. So don’t expect it to go away.That”s life.” Well I never forgot that.She is right. Just like during labor with my 1st born while on the phone I said,here’s another contraction Mom. She said “No ,one less contraction till the baby is here” Great advice. Have a wonderful day Marion.

72. By His grace, we were given the most precious gift of being mommies. It is in His grace, we raise those babies. It will be our faith in Him that our children will remember and have the most impact in their lives. The hours spent on our knees on their behalf, will bear much fruit. It is All for His glory!!

73. You can find this documentary on Netflix as well – check out his JAZZ series – Excellent!

74. This is an amazing documentary…and I’m happy to be a nerd too by watching it. I’d always heard about the dust bowl…but had no idea of the devastation right here in our own country. What was even sadder is that is was man made…created by not managing and taking care of the land…not so unlike what we are doing on a global scale today. Have we learned from this horrible past event…or is it a lesson missed? I have such respect for the families who struggled through to make it day by day. It was sad to hear the one child say he grew up thinking there was no color other than brown…a world with no color…beyond my comprehension.

75. It does make a difference…thanks for the reminder. Sometimes I think if I have to do some small task I do every day again, I will go crazy. I’m wrong when I feel like that: having a bed to make means I’m lucky, having dishes to wash means I’m lucky, having family to dirty up what I just cleaned means I’m lucky. I’m deeply grateful for who and what I have.

76. My husband and I have watched that doc. several weeks ago…I don’t think people who did not live in the dust bowl understood how bad it was. We are farmers and appreciate our soil and moisture every planting season…my husband No-tills and has for 30 years….he practices good stewardship to our earth….how sad that the Dust Bowl was created by man….hope we have learned a lesson…our yields may not be as high as some who till and our fields aren’t beautiful till crops get a certain height….but less erosion and moisture loss…is the trade off….he has learned to care for the land that has cared for us…hope through you others watch this Doc…such a great history lesson….Maybee’s MOM

77. Thanks Marian! I, too, watched the Dust Bowl documentary and was moved by the tenacity, eternal hope and sheer will of man to stay on the land and endure. I actually live in southwest Kansas and understand the plight of these people bacause many of those same families still live here. I was especially touched by the lady that remembered seeing her father round up all their cattle and heard them into a large hole he had dug and shot them because they could no longer afford to feed them. She was a 90 year old woman and was crying as she retold the story because it was so tramatic to her then and today!

78. Thank you for this post. I actually am a regular reader, but rarely (if ever) comment. This post struck a chord within me, and I just wanted to let you know that it made a difference to me. And that the things that you have to share matter. Thank you for inspiring me (and many others) to strive to move mountains while reminding us that it is through the small things that the big things occur.

79. Your boys will remember those things – and many, many others. I know I remember lots of these “little” things my dear mamma did for me. These memories are better than any of the material gifts I received, though I dearly loved the doll she made me for my eighth birthday. Still have it. Stay-at-home moms matter. God bless.

80. What a wonderful story. I love this post. I hope that someday my children will remember the lengths I go through to make their home as clean and comfortable for them. Sometimes I get tired of the mundane, routine chores but I thank you for the reminder of why and who I do them for. Have a fantastic day.

81. What a touching post. I’m in the middle of common-day tasks today and you just lifted my spirits. All the little things in the home do matter.

    I also want to take this opportunity to tell you how proud I am of you. Yesterday a friend and I went on a “research” run to Barnes & Noble. The budget doesn’t allow the purchase of books for a few months, so we’ve begun a tradition of spending a few hours at the bookstore working on our wish lists. I found your book and absolutely loved it — both of us did. As we carefully looked through the pages (barely opening it so it wouldn’t look used) we both commented on the simple elegance. How inspiring to see a strong woman of faith create something beautiful and excellent. So proud of you — can’t wait to get the book in a few months.

    1. Thank you, Leslie! I’d really like to send you a complimentary copy of my book. I spent many days sitting on the floor at B&N or Borders looking at decorating books, because I couldn’t afford to buy them. I would keep a list of the books that were really inspiring and would ask for them for Christmas. Send me an e-mail with your address… marian@missmustardseed.com

82. The nonfiction book by Timothy Eagan that is mentioned in Ken Burns’ documentary makes a fabulous read on this topic. Burns used it as a resource. If you liked this, you would also be fascinated by a nonfiction book called The Children’s Storm which recounts a freak blizzard that occurred in the upper Midwest and resulted in a terrible tragedy for school children. Sad, but compelling reading.

83. I love documentaries and historical fiction. You need to read Out of the Dust by I think Karen Hesse. It is about a child and her life. It is written in poetry form. It is for middle schoolers but so touching. I always read it to my class to incorporate literate and history.

84. You are not a nerd. My husband and I have been watching PBS since the 1970’s, We love all of the documentaries, Masterpiece Theater (even before Downton Abbey). I’ve watched the Dustbowl 2x. One thing that I found interesting was, when the wives would take strips of cotton wet them and then cover inbetween the siding. Just trying to keep the dirt and silt out any way they could, What stamina these women had.
    I love you new rug you got for the living/family room. Very neutral, but lovely. AND the one in your office is so fun, I just love it, Blessings

85. I read the Grapes of Wrath in junior high school. It almost broke my heart to learn of the suffering of these people. It still affects me to this day.

    On another note…Besides the presents that Santa Claus brought for my three children, I would fill their stockings with all kinds of interesting things that would pertain to each child. I would collect things all through the year for them.( nothing expensive,,,). When my 2 oldest were in college and my youngest was a senior in high school, I decided that they really didn’t need the stockings anymore. Oh my gosh! You would have thought that I had told them that we wouldn’t be celebrating Christmas at all. They said that those stockings were what they looked forward to at Christmas more than any other gift. I was touched that the stockings meant so much to my daughter and my big, strapping boys. Your boys will remember things that you will have forgotten and it will be so sweet to hear them reminisce.

    1. Funny on the stockings! When both of my kids were old enough to know what the Santa clause gig was really about, my oldest told me she really liked the magic of Christmas that I had created for them, and while she was big and old enough to be a part of the adult activities and responsibilities of Christmas, she wanted me to continue with the Santa sacks (stockings were too small) and the presents magically being produced on Christmas eve. And recognized that there was a whole lot of work in making that magic happen; but wanted it none the less.

86. Amen, friend.
    xoxo,
    shaunna

87. I love all of his documentaries. I have watched and cried from the Civil War… Lincoln- Baseball and the Dust Bowl. He always cuts through to the human experience and that’s why I think we can always relate to his work.

    Speaking of the Dust Bowl – there was a documentary about Woody Guthrie that was incredible also. I think it was on Bravo – not sure. Through him Americans learned about this scourge – he felt that he needed to be the mouthpiece of the downtrodden – especially in the Dust Bowl.

    Thanks for your post!

    Linda

88. I like Ken Burns’ documentaries also. Thank you for a little word of encouragement for us moms today!

    Jeanette @ Creating A Life

89. Marian,

    Ken Burns is also my favorite documentary filmmaker, he has such a mesmerising style of story-telling. At university, we had to watch the entirety of “The Civil War” for our Civil War History class. We learned everything we had to know for that class on his film alone. What an amazing documentary, it was so incredibly well done.

    That film was particularly interesting to me as at least two of my ancestors from my dad’s side of the family (all from Tennessee) fought in that war, the most poignant of them being a pair of brothers, one of whom fought for the Confederates, the other fought on the side of the Union. So it’s a family legacy that the ideology behind that war truly split a family and made brother fight against brother. What stuck with me from that film, other than the obvious horror and utter devastation and loss of life, was the heart-breaking letter that Union Major Sullivan Ballou wrote to his wife, Sarah, one week before he was mortally wounded at the First Battle of Bull Run. I dare anyone to read the letter and not reach for at least one hankie! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sullivan_Ballou

    – Kimberly

90. thank you for the chills this morning. while it’s storming outside and i’ve kept my 4 year old home to avoid him possibly having an asthma attack you give me confirmation that my job is important.

91. I watched that too! We love Ken Burns and all he does! We must be nerds too! PBS is my favorite!

92. YES! Being a wife and a mom is THE most important job…I have ever had. I can get a little rough and I wonder after the millionth time in one day that I have picked up the same toy…does this matter? I have always know it does matter…it is jut nice to read others say the same thing!

    Your book was delivered to my door this afternoon. I can’t wait to get dinner done, baths done and girls in their jammies and in bed (yep, it matters) and plop down on the couch n front of the fire with my new book. I have heard AMAZING things and can’t wait to dive in myself!

    Julie

93. Thank you for this post. You’re so right about what matters. Years ago when I was a new bride and visiting my husbands grand parents his Granny was so impressed with how I folded the bed sheets and bath towels. It was after we had left that it became clear just how impressed. She had told nearly everyone in the family what a great girl I was because I knew how to do those things and that I had table manners. It was my mother who made sure that I was well equiped with the know how to do things that I simply thought everyone was taught to do it that way.
    Dust Bowl was awesome. We really enjoyed it. What a facinating part of American history.

94. I love your blog. : ) I don’t watch documentaries often, but I didn’t know what to rent at the Redbox recently and I chose “Wild Horse Wild Ride.” It’s a fascinating documentary that follows several individuals who adopt and train wild horses from the government and take them to a competition in Fort Worth. Very worthwhile.

95. We live in the Dust Bowl (West Texas – Lubbock)

    Blowing Dust, piled up at front porch and back porch that you see at the end of the day when you get home from work. Sweeping…Sweeping…Sweeping (did I say we sweep a lot) is a constant with us.
    And if it is raining while the dust is blowing – well, when they say ‘it rained mud’ they mean it REALLY rained mud).

    We can wash the car one day and have it nice and clean for o.n.e. day. We enjoy the heck out of the clean car, even if for a day.

    But…it is home for us and has been for 24 1/2 years.

    It is nothing like it was years ago…but we still get those really big dust storms every now and then and then…seeing that wall of black-as-night coming in is a frightening sight, yet very fascinating.
    In fact, most of this week we have had blowing dust! cough cough hack hack

    Ken Burns documentaries are amazing!!

96. I am a nerd, too. I watched a documentary on Henry Ford the other evening (while my husband slept on the sofa beside me). It was very interesting. There is so much to learn from the past! He provided classes for his workers so they could learn English and learn how to assimilate, better. Their graduation involved walking onto a stage and entering a giant pretend ‘melting pot’ in their native garb – and then they emerged waving an American flag and dressed like American men of the time.
    -Trish

97. Wow I needed this today! After being up in the night cleaning vomit out of the carpet and sheets and rug in my daughter’s room to the nonstop work of potty training a 3 year old boy, to the endless piles of laundry and dishes, it feels like I’m living a real-life version of the movie Groundhog Day! I chose to stay home when my son was born and it was the best decision I’ve made since he’s been so sick for each of his 3 winters, but there are certainly times I wonder if I’m even noticed, if anything I do is important. This helps bring perspective! Thank you!

98. Hallelujah to that! Making a home is always important. It’s not just the stuff but the idea.

    My Grandma (who is 102 1/2 btw) was recently talking about getting clothes off of the line during the dustbowl. She said it was so dry you could hardly hang clothes out because grasshoppers would cover the clothes to get to the water. Ew. If you’ve ever had to deal with getting clothes off the line or the scratchiness of grasshoppers I think you can “feel” how bad the whole situation must have been. The whole idea of keep on going had real meaning.

    I love Ken Burns’ documentaries too! I own most of them and watch them while I’m doing projects and there is just meaningless junk on TV.

99. Marian,

    I’m going back through emails this morning and found this one I had missed. I did watch the Dust Bowl series on Ken Burns and I just love him. His documentaries are real and resourceful and I loved the story of the curtains! So good of you to share your thoughts on this. It does make a difference to us sometimes to know that even the most small mundane things make an impression in our expression of love for our families. Thanks for all you do.

100. I, too, saw that program (as well as the one of National Parks). This program was so poignant. The people of that time and place endured unbelievable hardship, and yet most of them just persevered. I, too, remember the part about the woman washing her curtains, never letting the persistent dust get the better of her. I found that so inspirational. When my son was growing up, I was a working mom. Staying at home would have been a real luxury. But working moms or stay-at-home moms all are bound together by love of family. And all those household tasks that can sometimes get us down DO MATTER. Thank you for expressing that so well in your blog.

101. I love this post, Marian! And the story. I imagine, in the midst of dust, dirt and a very bleak existence, those curtains were, for that Mom, a bit of beauty, femininity, softness… Something that said, a woman lives here, and she is trying to make a HOME for her family. And if all she has to feather her nest is a pair of curtains, then you can bet she’s going to wash those things and hang them back up to say, “This is home.”