Yesterday was one of those “Put it in your pocket to be enjoyed all year” kind of days. Matt, Dawn, Sara, and Nathan and I had lunch seated around my mother’s hundred-year-old table. Then the children went off to play. We adults had a good conversation about things that are important to us, sort of catching up on what has gone on for the past couple of weeks. Talking to each other, face-to-face is a privilege and it is one that I enjoy. Mom and Dad and I used to sit at that same table for quiet talks. I came by their house most days after school, had a cup of coffee, and talked. And listened. We might not have solved any problems but it is an amazing fact that just being in their presence made everything much better. We also shared a lot of laughter. When I think of time spent with my family, I am reminded of a line from an old poem; I don’t know the name of the author: “For there is not a sting that will not take wing when you’ve faced it and laughed it away.”
Social media can be a good thing; it can also be a bad thing. It seems to me that for every thing that has a potential for great good, there is also a potential for great evil. Keeping up with friends and family via the internet is one of those pleasures of this technological generation and I certainly enjoy it; but, there is no substitute for actual, warm conversation with a real, caring person. The internet should be a bridge, not a barrier.
Sometimes I wonder what Mom and Dad or Ma and Pappy Latty would think about computers, emails, the internet. Their first reaction might be disbelief because in just a few decades, our lives have changed drastically. When Mom was a child, conversations with people who are present in the same room together was not a rarity; it was commonplace. At night, the Latty family gathered in front of the fireplace. They talked. Pappy might be mending a piece of harness leather; Ma might be stitching up quilt blocks, the children might be reading or working on a puzzle but they were together. Laughter and conversation flowed freely and easily.
One of my favorite memories is of Matt and his friend Doug when they were both college students. Doug often came to our home. He played (and plays) guitar beautifully. Matt, of course, is a pro on the bass. But, after the music ended, they sat by the fireplace at Manos Meadows and talked. (I guess fireplaces are somehow conducive to good conversations.) These young men, both deep thinkers, didn’t always agree on what causes problems in society and ways to solve them, but they listened to each other. I was amazed at the grip they had on world events and their understanding of them.
Many years ago, I wrote a poem which was published, believe it or not, by a romance magazine. Here is just a fragment of that poem:“The sunny day laughter, the rainy day tears, warmed and watered this harvest of years…”
My wish, for every one of you, even if the weather is cold, is for sunny day laughter, minus the tears, and a warm, meaningful conversation with a good friend or a member of your family.
The Heritage of Etta Bend
by
Blanche Day Manos
I remember my family sitting around the dining room table, drinking tea and eating wonderful cinnamon rolls my Dad had made, or playing cards and games but always talking, sharing. It’s one of the things I miss most about growing older, having family and friends pass away, moving away. But the memories are still strong and beautiful.