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| Connie's Kitchen |
{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. February 7, 2010.}
Part 1 - "Dear Mothers"
Dear Mothers,
Well a storm is coming again. We missed the last one. . . I have to go to the store. . I need to make sure I have the wash done in case the power goes out.
This winter has been, um, snowy? Yesterday Mary called on her way to work. She lives about 15 miles from town. So she usually calls me on her way into town. I told her the news about Sissy. And I said, "Your Sister still does her shopping at the Salvation Army.". . Mary said sadly. . . "Mom, we don't even have a Salvation Army in our town." I said, "You're a Hultquist and you have no Salvation Army near you? That's almost a crime."
I have told the story about the wheel chair at the S.A...But I need a good laugh. One time when Mary was about 10 we were all at the S.A. And Mary got tired of looking . . . So she went to the back of the store and sat in this old wheel chair to wait for us. . Well this Christian man was back there and he began to talk to Mary. . He told her that he knew it must be hard to be sick and in a wheel chair. . . Mary was so shy she didn't say anything. Pretty soon it was time to go and Jim yelled for the kids to go. . . .Mary, of course, jumped out of the wheel chair and ran for the door. . . That poor astonished man probably thought she got healed or something. Mary told all of us the story later on. I told Mary she should have just said she was resting in the wheel chair waiting for her family. . . But Mary just stayed quiet. . . What a girl.
Another funny story was this: Jim would pull into the Salvation Army parking lot and give the kids a lecture before he allowed them out of the car. . . He had given them each a couple bucks to spend. . . He would say to the kids,"Now when I say you can go? Don't you all start running like crazy people for the door.". . But when he said they could go. . . "GO" they would!!! You could hear the pounding of running shoes on the pavement. . Like a fast herd of buffalo they would stampede for the S.A.
Sis always told me,"Mom some day I want to work for the Salvation Army so I can get all the good stuff when it first comes in." When Sis first came to NYC she would go to the S.A. and buy clothes and she would then sell the clothes at the Vintage Stores. . If you have an eye for what people like you can make some pretty good money doing that. The first dresses she created were from old prom dresses she got from the S.A. . Jimmy lived in NY at the time too. He said he would see women walk by down-town in prom dresses Sis had made over from the Salvation Army. They were women who normally wore the most expensive designer dresses. Jimmy said he laughed his head off when he saw these women walk by.
Mary has a real eye too for style. But she is much more country . . She loves the long flowing skirts and dresses. She loves to decorate at home. Mary's look is more Wild West. . Well sometimes, and other times not.
Both girls could make it no matter where they were. Sis said she would have died in NYC had she not known how to make corn bread. And she said she lived on beans and rice too, and lentils. When she first went to NY she said she was so amazed at the pan-handlers. . She felt bad for them until she saw their expensive tennis shoes and red and green hair. . She said she thought, "Dad worked at anything and supported all of us kids. . These kids can find a job too." Sis told everyone about her Dad working and taking care of all of us on a very small wage. .
Part 2 - "All of My Children are Taught of the Lord and Great is Their Peace"
And no, I didn't want Sis to run off to NYC. . . My Christian friends comforted me with a serious tone,"Don't worry Connie, she will be back. A lot of kids run to NYC after high school . .but very few ever make it in NY. Its expensive and she won't be able to keep up with the big guns there. She will be glad to get back home."
But as time has gone on Sis has stayed. . I had cried and prayed she would come home but she didn't. Somehow I raised her to dream and to see beyond the natural . . And at this point this is how it has played out in her life. Now Dan is with her in NY. He lives up the street. I wonder what he will do. Dan makes his own way too. He works at whatever he can to pay rent. But his dream is his music. . . I am happy to say that my kids work for what they need. Mary is pregnant ya know? And she will stay home once she has her baby. Mary is so happy. What a miracle she is. My dream come true. There is such JOY when she phones me. How happy I am for her. If she has a girl she is naming her middle name after me, Elizabella Constance {Connie}. . . If its a boy he will be named after Jim,"James Russel." Russel after Brads middle name. Mary is so full of joy. I tell her, "Mary I am so happy for you to have such a joyful thing happen to you. God is so good.". . She and Brad are such miracles.
But boy has it
been wild raising these 6 kids. . . Its like a wild circus ride that you
can't get off of. . . You yell at the guy running the ride every time you
ride by him. . . "Stop this thing I want off." But he smiles and acts like
he can't hear you. . And you yell, "Stop the world I want to get off." But you
keep going round and round and round and round. . .
Part 3 - "Through the Valley of the Shadows"
And ya know Mary Lehman my mentor taught me so much about loving my children. The older Titus mother was to teach the younger mothers to love their children. Mary L. would tell me so often,"Connie just love those kids. . . They will do ok.". . Well I think in the old days if a kid acted up you threw 'em out as soon as they could work, and be on their own. A rebellious son could throw the whole family off, or a daughter too. . But now a days its pretty dangerous to do that.
Jim's and my way was to walk with the kids through the Valley of the Shadows of Death. In other words, you stay in touch with your prodigal. . . Even though you don't want to. . . Its hard when you have a kid that is hell bent to go nuts and drive everyone else nuts too. For a Mother, its like running into a burning building to talk with a person who is calling you names. Been there and done that. But ya know I was never willing to let the devil have one of my kids, not one.
And no.. me and my happy band of Pinocchios are not very good examples of Christian living. . . My face is red as a beet. Jim is tucked away in Heavenly Glory so I can't blame him for why all the kids do what they do.
But like Mary L. always told me,"Connie love is the
answer," I never really got that as a young mom. But I get it better
now. . . Its hard but I get it. I read one other comment when I Googled my
name the other day. . . one Lady said, "Well you can't help but love those
Hultquists." I think of that often. As my face is red and I am scared to
death, I think of my life as a widow. . . How imperfect we Hultquists
are. But you-alls love, I think, has been a real healing to me. Hopefully
in our imperfections you can't help but love us. . .
Love Connie
{Note from the administrator: This writing has been gleaned from the archives of Connie's letters. Find out more about the posts on this blog by reading this introduction. }
* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony! You will be encouraged in old time homemaking.*
