Mini vacation

Here’s another story from my mother.

The old house had been empty for years. Now it had a new coat of paint and it brought back a flood of memories from about 1961 or ’62.

When Daddy, Sister, and Brother were off to school, days seemed long to Little Sister. There were no playmates nearby. Mother was busy with gardening, canning, baking bread, cooking, raising chickens, and sometimes with cattle or hogs. Those and a few dozen other chores.

Often Little Sister would ask for a picnic. On those days Mother would pack her little green dinner bucket for her. Then Little Sister would sit on a cement slab in the backyard and invite “Linda” to eat with her. Linda always came when she was called, but she could collapse into a pocket or be thrown into a closet until needed again. Or she could just fade away.

One day Little Sister had a new request. She wanted to go on a vacation. Mother could see no way to implement that request, so she began explaining why they couldn’t. Little Sister was not one to make unreasonable demands.

“Just a little vacation,” she pleaded with that little smile that could sway harder hearts than Mother’s. Who could refuse? Mother finished the task at hand and soon they were ready to start.

“Which way shall we go?” Mother wanted to make a vacation as pleasing as possible. The road in front of the house went east and west. Little Sister pointed west, and they set off down that dusty way. At each intersection mother asked again for directions. Each time the answer was “west.”

As they neared Bluffton, Mother saw something that caused her to stop. Someone was raising peacocks. Their pen (or peacock yard) was next to the road. When they got out of the car for a better view, a lady came out of the house. She was instantly captivated by Little Sister.

She gave a little lecture on care and feeding of peafowl before inviting them into her home. She was a little old lady and this invitation surprised Mother. However, the two of them followed her into the house and on into a bedroom. The furnishings were of an ancient vintage; even then they were antiques. On a lovely old dresser there was a large stoneware crock or jar. It was filled with peacock plumes.

Back in those days ladies wore hats when they went anywhere. This lady sold her plumes to a hat maker in New York City. Generously, she reached into the jar and took a handful which she gave to Little Sister. Mother perceived that Old Lady was not blessed with an overabundance of cash, so she protested the gift. One or two plumes, not a whole handful. Old Lady insisted. Both Little Sister and Old Lady looked happy. Mother recalled that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

After a little chat, it was time to head for home. It’d been a very pleasant mini vacation.

Later, a Decatur lady gave Little Sister one more plume. The plumes were given a permanent home in Little Sister’s bedroom.

A son or daughter lived next door to Old Lady and had an upholstery shop. They are still in business (or perhaps it is their children), but the old house was empty for several years. The peacock yard fell into disrepair and disuse.

Now someone has painted the big old house. And who knows? Perhaps some other day another small girl will have a mini vacation complete with peacocks and a little old lady who wants to share.

By Dorothy Howard Adler