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My Favorite Essay by Gladys Taber

BUTTERNUT WISDOM

From an essay by Gladys Taber
Family Circle  - September 1982

    I sat in the sun the other day while the dogs dug up the lawn and thought about work. I wasn’t working. I was just thinking about it. I have found that when I cannot possibly accomplish everything I am supposed to and feel an unbearable pressure---as all homemakers must---if I just stop, life goes better.
    I get a good book, make some spiced tea and sit down on my own corner of the sofa or in my favorite lawn chair. I let life settle in around me, and that is the only way I can express it. After 20 minutes or half an hour, I go back to the mechanics of living.  AND at days end I am just as far along as if I had not stopped to think.

Another of her thoughts: time for thinking is a gift one can give only to one’s self.


Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have over the years. When I've had it with my life some days -  I have only to sit down with a glass of sweet tea and think of this essay and things kind of "right" themselves.

July blessings to you!
Barb

Comments

  1. PatJuly 9, 2011 at 10:49 AM

    I enjoyed it very much! Made me smile!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elizabeth VollstadtJuly 9, 2011 at 1:01 PM

    Love that thought. Quiet time with a cup of tea always soothes my soul. I just don't do it often enough.
    (Did you know that I still have the note you sent me when I first moved to Florida, reminding me of our good times over a cup of tea? I'm looking forward to more tea and peaceful moments when I visit this summer.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. The BroadJuly 9, 2011 at 1:05 PM

    What good advice this is. There is nothing like a cup of tea to make this right in the world!

    ReplyDelete
  4. B. WHITTINGTONJuly 9, 2011 at 2:17 PM

    I loved the comment, watch the dogs dig up the yard. Gladys had to be a great person. I have a book or two of her essays. She was featured every month for a few years in F. Circle.
    We all, esp women, need to stop when life is at its busiest and rest, put our feet up and have tea.
    Then the work goes much better.
    Blessings, B

    ReplyDelete
  5. Susan Flett SwiderskiJuly 9, 2011 at 2:34 PM

    My grandmother's been gone since 1960, but I still remember something she used to say along these lines. She said, "When you have so many things to do that you don't know what to do first, don't do any of 'em!" She was a hard worker, but also a proponent of taking a breather to put things back into perspective again. And while doing it, natch, one must always have a cup of tea.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Deb ShuckaJuly 10, 2011 at 2:15 PM

    Lovely thoughts here. I think summer is the perfect time to indulge in lots of thinking and stepping back an doing nothing for long periods of time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sally WesselyJuly 10, 2011 at 7:37 PM

    This brought back thoughts of days when I was a busy "homemaker" and mother to five young ones. I now wonder how I accomplished all I did in those days. Strangely, as I reflect back on these crazy, hectic days, I realize I took more time to sit and think than I do now. This is a great reminder on how one should live life.

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  8. Granny KateJuly 10, 2011 at 9:14 PM

    I love this. Life is so short and when I rush around too much, time eats itself up and nothing gets done. I'll take this advice from time to time. Thanks, Barbara!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Janet,July 11, 2011 at 10:56 AM

    I've been doing that lately. Sometimes I have so much to do that I don't know where to start and I just want to throw up my hands and quit. But, I find if I just take a deep breath and don't do anything for a while that you get the courage to start 'somewhere' and just do what you can. The work is not going to go anywhere, it will always be there after you get back from your break.

    ReplyDelete
  10. SandiJuly 16, 2011 at 11:51 AM

    HI Barb,
    Thanks for reading my blog and commenting! I appreciated the thoughts here, and also enjoyed your previous post. It will be a pleasure to share in your experiences as I read along.

    ReplyDelete
  11. yayaJuly 16, 2011 at 10:42 PM

    I've been reading a lot this summer. I enjoy a cup of herb tea in the winter, but a glass of cold water and a book is just as soothing to me!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sandy aka Doris the GreatJuly 19, 2011 at 10:22 AM

    That's just how I conduct my "at home work days"; can't move as quickly as I used to and don't even want to.

    Thanks for visiting me!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Terri TiffanyJuly 22, 2011 at 7:18 PM

    I enjoyed this too! Hope your summer is coming along well:)

    ReplyDelete
  14. NanJuly 31, 2011 at 4:29 PM

    Wonderful words of wisdom from one of my favorite people.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Glenda BeallOctober 12, 2012 at 10:08 PM

    I am happy to read Gladys Tabor again after all these years. I was a big fan of her columns and I have some clipped and saved.
    Thanks for commenting on my blog, Barb. I am happy to find yours and will be back.

    ReplyDelete
  16. UnknownJuly 10, 2016 at 10:02 AM

    It works with a glass of wine, too.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Melissa hoganJune 18, 2019 at 5:37 PM

    My husband left me last year after 25 years of marriage (he turned 50). It has been the most difficult year of my life, but full of lessons about myself and what life and marriage are all about. I am passionate about marriage and i didn't give up on my husband. resides in USA, I entered online in search of advice on how i can amend my marriage while i was at work. I saw so many positive reviews and nice feed back about how a Doctor called Robinson.buckler@yahoo.com has been wonderful with his work. I gave a shot to make contact with him via his Email and he assured me that my marriage will be peaceful and i believed in his words. 16 hours after he finished work, my husband came back home pleading and now, we are living peacefully again. Get in contact with him if you need any help.

    ReplyDelete

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