I am grateful for my years in Grouse Creek. Here's a few of the reasons why. Not everyone can live seventy miles from a town with a grocery store and most of that over dirt roads. We only had one station on the television and that one was fuzzy. My husband and I taught school together, twenty-four kids total from ages 5 to 16. We could throw a frisbee from out porch and it could hit the back of the school--that's how close we were to work. Our children played outside a lot. They read books, hiked, rode bikes, played in the gullies and hills, and did a lot with us--their parents. Kids in Grouse Creek learn how to communicate with adults because there were almost as many adults in the school as students. Instead of playing a ball game in the gym with only fifth graders, they learned to play with first graders too. Cooperation was the norm, not the exception. At the church, just a little further from the school, everyone who showed up had a job to do. It didn't matter if they were very active, it took everyone in town to run the ward. Life was simple. And it was good. It was in Grouse Creek that I really began writing stories. A few were published. Once we moved into "town," it would take years before I would start writing again. I wish every kid could have a Grouse Creek experience. I wish every family could have a Grouse Creek experience. For me, it made such a huge difference in my life.
Just Shy of Paradise
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Thursday, November 21, 2013
Feeling Grateful for Grouse Creek
It's been kind of fun reading other people's gratitude posts on facebook everyday this month. I've enjoyed coming up with my own too. The great thing about gratitude is that the more you count your blessings, "and name them one by one," the more you seem to have. It has been so easy to think of something to post. I've thought back to my childhood friends, wanting to name them one by one, then on to college, and my early married life, then on to Grouse Creek where I started to really find myself. Then on to Paradise where our children really grew up, had fantastic friends, teachers, and neighbors. Now, here we are in Avon where we look out and see the beauties of the earth and feel the bounties of the earth.
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I also believe every child and adult should have a Grouse Creek. I learned about myself in Grouse Creek. Learned about the beauty of the earth, the beauty of quiet, and the moments to think and be grateful. I learned about being different and that it was a good thing. I learned to appreciate the the simple ways of life and to make do. I learned many skills from my Grandparents, Winfred and Olive Kimber. I learned I was interested in many of the things Grandma liked. I learned to be helpful and thoughtful. I learned that I liked to be alone away from my siblings sometimes, to just be myself. I was the oldest. I learned to love the importance of families and the influence they have been in my life. I have learned from looking back, that I appreciate all that my mother has loved about Grouse Creek, the strong ties and commitment she has for family and tradition. Thank you Carol for always reminding me to think.
Linda, beautifully said. Thanks for sharing.
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