SLEEP PATTERNS & MEMORIES OF FAMILY FARM....
By Olivene Godfrey
We've all read and heard about mothers who think chicken soup can solve their children's problems. My mother, it seemed to me as a youngster, seemed to think potato soup, which I detested, and Pepto Bismol, which I tolerated, would relieve my anxieties ranging from stage fright before a piano recital to a quarrel with a boy friend.
When my son was a child, he would often say that I thought all of his problems could be solved by taking a hot bath and going to sleep. Well, feeling clean and rested certainly should make one more comfortable in his misery.
And on the subject of sleep, sleeping too much can cause just as many problems as not sleeping enough. according to a University of California, San Diego, study of 100 adults' sleeping habits. They found the perfect amount of sleep to be between seven and eight hours a night. I have found this to be true for me. If I lose too much sleep, I feel physically ill and have problems just functioning.
GRANDPARENTS FARM REMEMBERED-- I think I was fortunate to have had grandparents who lived on a farm which was located in Pelham Valley in Middle Tennessee where I was born in a Methodist parsonage. A year later, my parents left Pelham and settled in Chattanooga, TN where I grew up. Every summer I'd spend several weeks with my paternal grandparents and my two aunts who lived with them. My parents and sisters and I also visited the farm often throughout the years. All eight of my grandparents’ children were born in the old house and I loved to sneak in the parlor which was rarely used except for very special guests. I remember at night hearing the clock struck eight and my grandfather started getting ready to retire. He went to bed then regardless of who was visiting the farm.
As a child one of the things I could always be certain of was that my grandmother would have a rather elaborate glass dish filled with honey on the long dining table at her house.
My grandparents spoiled me outrageously when I would visit.
and I always ate from a certain plate I'd admired. Then there came the day when my grandparents and aunts seemed nervous before dinner. Finally, they told me that my favorite plate had been broken. I think they took it harder than I did.
Being a "city girl” I enjoyed churning and gathering eggs and playing in the hay loft, all things my son and many others today have no knowledge of. Of course, I imagine if I'd lived on the farm and had to perform chores they wouldn't have been as enjoyable.
We often visited relatives who lived near the farm. One of my favorite places to visit was the farm owned by my Aunt Clara and Uncle Henry White and their three sons, Alton, Fred and Ralph, and daughter, Laura Ann, who was one of my favorite cousins and a playmate. I remember that Aunt Clara was always cheerful with her eyes just dancing as she laughed and joked with us. Sometimes we would eat a meal with them at a wooden table with benches on each side of it. And, I remember the delicious food and fun we had then.
Laura Ann and I still stay in touch via letters and phone calls. Her parents and brothers are all gone now but she is a strong woman and stays busy with her house, yard and a vegetable garden each year on the old home place.
See you next week.
By Olivene Godfrey
We've all read and heard about mothers who think chicken soup can solve their children's problems. My mother, it seemed to me as a youngster, seemed to think potato soup, which I detested, and Pepto Bismol, which I tolerated, would relieve my anxieties ranging from stage fright before a piano recital to a quarrel with a boy friend.
When my son was a child, he would often say that I thought all of his problems could be solved by taking a hot bath and going to sleep. Well, feeling clean and rested certainly should make one more comfortable in his misery.
And on the subject of sleep, sleeping too much can cause just as many problems as not sleeping enough. according to a University of California, San Diego, study of 100 adults' sleeping habits. They found the perfect amount of sleep to be between seven and eight hours a night. I have found this to be true for me. If I lose too much sleep, I feel physically ill and have problems just functioning.
GRANDPARENTS FARM REMEMBERED-- I think I was fortunate to have had grandparents who lived on a farm which was located in Pelham Valley in Middle Tennessee where I was born in a Methodist parsonage. A year later, my parents left Pelham and settled in Chattanooga, TN where I grew up. Every summer I'd spend several weeks with my paternal grandparents and my two aunts who lived with them. My parents and sisters and I also visited the farm often throughout the years. All eight of my grandparents’ children were born in the old house and I loved to sneak in the parlor which was rarely used except for very special guests. I remember at night hearing the clock struck eight and my grandfather started getting ready to retire. He went to bed then regardless of who was visiting the farm.
As a child one of the things I could always be certain of was that my grandmother would have a rather elaborate glass dish filled with honey on the long dining table at her house.
My grandparents spoiled me outrageously when I would visit.
and I always ate from a certain plate I'd admired. Then there came the day when my grandparents and aunts seemed nervous before dinner. Finally, they told me that my favorite plate had been broken. I think they took it harder than I did.
Being a "city girl” I enjoyed churning and gathering eggs and playing in the hay loft, all things my son and many others today have no knowledge of. Of course, I imagine if I'd lived on the farm and had to perform chores they wouldn't have been as enjoyable.
We often visited relatives who lived near the farm. One of my favorite places to visit was the farm owned by my Aunt Clara and Uncle Henry White and their three sons, Alton, Fred and Ralph, and daughter, Laura Ann, who was one of my favorite cousins and a playmate. I remember that Aunt Clara was always cheerful with her eyes just dancing as she laughed and joked with us. Sometimes we would eat a meal with them at a wooden table with benches on each side of it. And, I remember the delicious food and fun we had then.
Laura Ann and I still stay in touch via letters and phone calls. Her parents and brothers are all gone now but she is a strong woman and stays busy with her house, yard and a vegetable garden each year on the old home place.
See you next week.
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