Save some for later....

Save some for later, you never know when you might need it!

Don't eat it all in one setting.

Always have enough for company.

These are all sides to the same coin...perhaps a chaos theory 3 sided coin??

My grandma was born in 1915. She was born into hardworking coalmining stock. Times were hard. She quit school in 8^th grade so her sisters could finish. Her Mother passed her off as a sister so she could remarry, and my Grandma’s Dad called her “Pete” her name had not a single P in it so….no clue there! I’m sure my Mother can enlighten me. She was a trained nurse and was proud of it. She met my Grand Dad working in the local Scott store. The local news paper carried a story that”….popular with the boys, got married” What MY Grandma?? No clue on that, she was the most “proper” person I’ve EVER met. I learned from Mama…save some for later….

Onionteen (unguentine)- my Grandma died when I was 15…in ALL the years I lived with her…we had the same tube, we could only use it in dire emergencies because…”you don’t want you use it all you may need some later”

Baby Powder- “don’t use it all leave some for later” thus we had at least 5 partial containers when my Mom came to visit…holymotherofheaven!!! My Mom cleaned up the powder by combining it. I was certain we were all going to get sucked into the abyss…I had NEVER seen anything combined before!

Suntan lotion- “that’s expensive it came from Avon, save it for when you need it” We had 3 things of suntan goo…coppertone in the tub, we had to save that for when we were really going to be out. The orange, we had to save it because it was an orange shaped container, but we couldn’t save it empty…that would be wasteful. We also had some QT tan accelerator but we didn’t use that.

Perfume- we had the same bottle forever because Daddy gave it to her before he died…this I understand.

Blackberries- they moved from KY to FL. They were the last blackberries my Daddy (grand daddy) picked for her before he died…I understood it for a time, but she kept them 5 years. They got tossed out the year my Mom visited and combined the powder. Nearly killed my Grandma that year. Funny thing the blackberries grew across the road and it’s like Daddy was freed to live again (ok maudlin)

Soda- always offer someone the last of the soda….To this day I am forever offering someone the last sip of hot flat soda or beer. My husband would love this to stop. He assures me it isn’t hospitable at all, but rather rude.

Food-NEVER take the last OR the first of the food on a plate, table, tray, buffet…etc.

Dry goods- never finish the last of the cereal, flour, oatmeal, cornmeal etc…always save it until you go grocery shopping again even if it’s just a table spoon or two, because then you are never out!

Mercurochrome- “don’t use it except when you really need it! It’s hard to find!” It was literally ALL over in the 70’s and 80’s. Like the unguentine this too was similar to the oil in the lamp…it never ended! We had the same mercurochrome until the day she died. I have no idea how because once I painted a Barbie doll with it.

From all these caveats about saving for later…I never let a person leave hungry if I can help it. I don’t eat in front of people unless I have enough to share. I will offer the last sip of hot flat soda, but I don’t mean to be rude.

I have infected my husband with this odd behavior….I have partial bottles of spices that are as old as our marriage. I have soup mixes from years ago. We had our “emergency meat” lurking in the back of the freezer for YEARS, even after power outages. Sadly it didn’t sprout and grow a cow when we finally disposed of it. Oddly not even the starving strays in the neighborhood would touch it, kind of makes me glad we never had to use it. She taught me to hold on to things…I’m not as much of a pack rat as she was…I tend to hold on to people, places, memories….not so much meat anymore.

What did you learn from your Mama?