Just Like Our Parents

Last night, I looked around my house and thought, "we are turning into old people."

I mean, seriously.

I've got the knick-knacky stuff that my kids will go through one day and wonder WHAT IN THE WORLD I was thinking. Because I'm already thinking it!

At Jim's parent's house, back when I first started hanging around with them before we were married, I noticed that everything was covered in blankets. The couch, the recliner, all the chairs.

As I got to know the family better, I was really thankful that there were blankets over everything. Think on that a while.

Just sayin'.

Jim and I...we are not fancy at all. Our house is pretty much a combination of things we've been given. The couch, the end tables, the TV, the lamp...all from my sister, Leanne. Other pieces have come from my in-laws...and some of the decorative items belonged to my Mom. I have a set of my grandmother's china. And we're okay with all of it. I love the sentimentality of it. It feels like home.

But last night, I took a look around. The new recliner we got in the Spring...that took me 3 times back and forth to the store to get the fabric right for JIM...it's covered in a bright green, think Christmas green, fleece blanket. It's like this ALL THE TIME. Oh, if we know you're comin' over, I might snatch the blanket off before you get here. But if you just drop in, and that's okay...you're gonna see it.

At first, I thought maybe the material on the chair was scratchy to Jim. He's the one who sits in it the most, even tho it was supposed to be "my" chair. I asked him about it one day. Why, after saying we needed to get a new chair because the old one was so ratty...WHY does he insist on covering it up with a blanket?

His answer? "So I can sit in it and eat my breakfast." (this explains the Cheerios I keep finding)

So I thought, "awww...he's trying to keep it nice." I can re-SPEK dat.

But now, we have a new couch and love-seat, and THEY stay covered up with blankets most of the time. Why? Because my daughter's little half-a-dog is too good to sit on the floor like a regular dog. Oh, noooo. He has to be on the couch. Or in Jim's leather chair.

And not only that. He has to have pillows for his head.

What a diva.

So we keep blankets on the couch to keep dirt and grass from Marley's fur from getting on it. Marley thinks he's a Lab, and the time he doesn't spend outside peeing on everything known to man...he spends trying to dig his way to China from Jim's garden. And then he wants to come in and sit on my couch. No thanky.

The other thing that I've been noticing is that Jim is trying to re-use his coffee cups. Now, I use the same glass all day. But I'm not going to use it DAY-TO-DAY. Jim has started lightly rinsing out his coffee cup and putting it over with the other CLEAN coffee cups...and reusing it over and over and over. This might sound okay to you, but it is NOT okay with me. And it is definitely a FAR cry from the Type A, germ-a-phobic man that I married 100 years ago. It's just so yucky.

There are many things we do like our parents did. Jim talks LOUD like his dad does and occasionally puts on a show being loud, like his Dad does. He makes some of the same sounds when he clears his throat. He likes to have a radio on when he's outside working, even tho he might not be able to hear it. His dad does this, too. The difference is that Jim's dad CRANKS IT UP SO LOUD that you can hear it from everywhere. I'm sure he's a joy to his neighbors, for many reasons. It's probably just a matter of time before Jim is doing this, too.

Like his dad, Jim will eat almost everything...even if the date is expired or if it's left-overs that have been in the back of the fridge for weeks. His motto, and I just want to add I heard no less than THREE TIMES yesterday is "waste not, want not."

He also wears clothes until they are past the point of no-return...even wearing underwear that will hardly stay UP. It's like he thinks he will get a prize for wearing clothes the longest that anyone has ever worn them in the history of people wearing clothes. There's just no sense in it.

There are also many things that we do because our parents did them: Like working hard. Jim's dad is a very hard worker. Like making a home. Jim's mom always makes a happy, cozy home for her family. Like praying for our family and others. My dad and his wife pray for our family every morning...just like my Dad's uncle used to do. We are thankful for the blessing of prayer. Like praising God. My Mom hummed and sang and praised God all day, every day. Jim's dad taught Jim the value of money and about financial planning. Jim's mom taught him about being generous. My Dad taught me about being content, and my Mom taught me to embrace new adventures.

I am most thankful for the legacy of godly parents and grandparents. It has meant so much to Jim and I and been a solid foundation on which to build our family.

"These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up. Deuteronomy 6:6-7