Gaining Perspective
October 27, 2008 – 8:43 am
Slave Quarters at McLeod Plantation
With so many things in front of me this week I woke up slightly overwhelmed. Then I looked at this picture and for some reason it calmed me down. Perhaps it’s the thought of simpler times, when life’s tempo was slower and the world seemed more manageable. Of course, I realize these were slave quarters and stand as a testament to something I hope never returns to America, but looking at the picture I can also see a hard-working community. I can see women cooking and men hauling water, children running to and fro, babies being rocked to sleep and days ending when the sun went down. If there’s one good thing that came out of this era it is the benefits of working together.
The one and only time my father was able to visit my home before he died, he asked me about these cabins. I told him what little I knew. His eyes got teary. He said it reminded him of how he grew up on the farm. He never talked about his childhood but somehow we all knew it was filled with hard work and hardship. Yet my father was not a melancholy man. I think the hardships of his childhood made him appreciate everything he got. I never remember him complaining about anything until he got old and sick and even then something as simple as a bright red cardinal coming to the birdfeeder would spark a light in his eye.
When life seems challenging, I think about these things. It’s as if my father still sits with me, giving me perspective, reminding me that hard work never hurt anyone and that challenges are simply opportunities to be creative.
Thanks Dad!
