“’Cause meanwhile back at Mama's, the porch lights on, come on in if you wanna” – Tim McGraw

​Every year our family does our best to visit Grandma during the summer.  There’s something thrilling about piling our belongings and our kids into our car, traveling 1500 miles cross-country – which includes driving through New Mexico (by the way- we counted… for hours… we only saw SEVEN trees!  SEVEN!?!), and enjoying each other’s company for a straight 26 hours.  Suddenly the ’57 Buick Century Caballero station wagon, and kids in the back makes perfect sense.  Parents, must have been on a road trip and wanted their children as far away as possible!  Perhaps the safety experts are wrong.  It WAS in the youngsters’ best interest to ride that way.  Ha!  Are we insane for these large treks?  Quite possibly.  Is it worth it?  Absolutely. 
What’s so special about Grandma’s house, you ask?  First off, whether you’re a five-year-old or middle-aged, everyone appreciates Grandma’s spoilin’ & cooking.  100% homemade.  100% delicious.  Crispy, golden fried chicken, mashed potatoes with a butter pond, peppered gravy, sweet corn fresh off the cobb, perfectly browned rolls.  It doesn’t get better!  Secondly, she reminds you to “eat the frog”.  If you’re unfamiliar with that term, it was coined by Mark Twain in reference to prioritizing things that you’d rather avoid doing.  Dishes were done immediately following a meal.  Laundry was done as soon as showers were completed.  Cleaning was sprinkled in during traditional “down-time”.  Surprisingly, this workflow decreased the dread of chores and became more of a team-effort.  Lastly, family came first.  We all believe and purpose this for our lives.  It’s a simple statement that most of our hearts desire.  With the hustle and bustle of life, work, volunteer commitments, extra-curricular activities, and the tiredness that comes from it all, we are often detoured from that creed.  At Grandma’s, the TV doesn’t go on until the evening, solely to catch up on world events via the news.  Instead, we spent most evenings fishing, playing card games, or just sitting around the kitchen table talking.  It’s such a simple concept, to put authentic family-time first.  Why do we make it so difficult on ourselves to do so?
While returning home, I mentioned to my husband that visiting this small town (population 1,800), showed me that we can do life better.  As a die-hard lover of all things vintage, returning to a simpler way of life is welcomed!  Join me by pulling out a board game or card game, shutting off the tv, and interacting with your family sometime this week.