Olden Ways

Emma came rushing down the stairs. Mama yelled," Emma Joy stop running down those stairs". Yes mam, I am sorry mama. Emma slowed down and walked the rest of the way down the stairs and came into the kitchen. What are you doing mama? I am making breakfast for us dear. "Come sit down and keep me company", mama said. Emma pulled the stool by the counter and climbed up to watch mama. Mama was taking oranges and rolling them on the counter then cutting them in half. Mama then took the halves and was squishing them on this round funny looking thingy. Emma asked, "what are you doing?" Mama told me that she was making some orange juice for breakfast. "Wouldn’t it be easier to just get it from the grocery store?", Emma asked. "Yes, I could do that, but this way is so much better", mama replied. You get a better tasting juice, and it is so much healthier for you. Emma, remember last weekend when you went to grandma and grandpa’s farm. Yes, mama I remember. I got to go play in grandma orchid and crawl underneath all the trees picking oranges. I would pick them up and rolled them out to grandma. Then grandma put a bucket on the ground, and I got to play basketball by tossing the oranges into the bucket. I won to mama. I got all of them in on the first shot. It was fun. Mama finished with the orange juice and put it in the icebox to chill. Mama then walked over to the cupboard and grabbed the can of flour. She brought it to the counter and started to pour some in the bowl. Mama looked at me and said," Emma remember last week while we were sitting out on the front porch and I was grinding the wheat"? Yes, mama I remember that weird sound of the crunching noise it made. What was the thingy that you were using mama? Mama told me that it was a flour grinder. I told mama it would have been so much easier to go buy flour from the store. Yes, Emma it would be easier but then you would not have fresh and healthy flour. Mama asked me if I remember going to Uncle John’s farm two weeks ago. I told mama that I had so much fun that day. Uncle John took me ride on his big old tractor. We rode up and down so many rows of his wheat fields. It was so much fun it made my tummy giggle so much. It made me laugh and laugh. The Uncle John gathered and put all the wheat into another big old trucks, and they took off to go to another farm. Well, Emma, Uncle John gave us some of the wheat to bring home with us. This is what I was making while sitting out on the front porch. I remember mama putting the wheat in between two big heavy stones and making it turn round and round. Mama then walked to the icebox and grabbed the eggs and milk and brought them to the counter. Mama started cracking the eggs and putting them into the bowl with the flour. Emma, remember when you were at grandma’s house and you helped her fetch the chicken eggs. Yes, mama I remember getting to run around the chicken coop and chasing Molly, Polly, and Dolly. It was so much fun to play with them. I do not think that they liked when I went in their hen house and grabbed their eggs for grandma. They started fussing at me when I came out. I told them I would come back and play soon. Well, Emma, these are the eggs you fetched for grandma that day. Really mama, that is so cool. Mama the poured some milk into the bowl with the eggs and the flour. Emma do you remember when you were with grandpa in his big red barn. Yes, mama. I got to play with Tilly their big tabby cat. He let me rub his belly and was purring so loudly. Grandpa asked me to get his milking bucket. I brought it to him and sat on the stool next to him. Old Betsy, his favorite cow was next to us and I got to pet her. I think she liked when I was petting her. Grandpa showed me how to grab her tetes and gently squeeze them. Mama! milk came out of Betsy. It was so funny watching grandpa get milk into the bucket. Grandpa even let me help Betsy make some milk. Well, Emma, these are the eggs and milk from grandma and grandpa’s farm. Mama, that is so neat that we can get all these foods. Mama mixed all the stuff in the bowl and put it to the side. Mama went back to the icebox to grab the butter and she put a scoop of it in the pan, and it started to sizzle. Mama asked me if I remember when she was churning the butter on the back porch while daddy was working in the vegetables the garden. I told mama that I had fun that day. I was playing ring around the rosy and using the big stick to go up and down. That was fun, but I got really dizzy and wobbled all over the porch. You were laughing hard mama as I kept trying to get up from falling. Well, Emma, this is the butter we made that day. I watched as mama poured scoops of batter into the pan with the melted butter. Then mama flipped the pancake up in the air and it landed right back into the pan. Wow, mama that is a cool magic trick. How did you do it? Mama told me to watch the little bubbles form in the pancake batter then when there is a lot of bubbles you can flip them up into the air. I asked mama to teach me her magic trick. Mama told me to go and sit down at the table. Breakfast was ready to be served. Daddy came down the stairs." What is that delicious smell", daddy asked. "Mama just finished making us some yummy breakfast", Emma told daddy. Mama set down our plates and she sat down with us. Emma, you know you helped me make this breakfast. No, I did not mama. I just sat and watched you make it. No Emma, you helped very much to make our breakfast. You helped get the oranges. You gathered the eggs and even helped get the milk from Old Betsy. You even helped with the butter too. Mama, that was all fun things I did. I did not do any work to make breakfast. "Emma, sometimes doing work can be fun", mama said. Emma turned to daddy said," I guess I did help mama make this yummy breakfast". Emma smiled and was proud of herself that she could help her mama. Emma started to eat her breakfast with a big smile on her face.