A Life Well Lived...Vol. 3

In case you haven't seen my first or second posts, let me catch you up to speed. A girl who I have never met before named Kelsey came up with this great idea about ditching the bucket list and creating a list of things that have already made her life "well lived." My friend Rachel brought the idea to her blog, and inspired me to create a couple of my own. Instead of hoping for wishes that are not promised to us, we are focusing on accomplishments that have already blessed us.

This week, I have decided to break the rules slightly. Rather than mention why my life has been well lived...I'm going to bring to light another life that was incredibly inspirational. I never knew she existed, but Ann Vance Thurmond has inspired me everyday this week as I was engrossed in her book, "Yesterday's Butter."

Don't go looking for this book in stores. There are only 200 in existence. I currently have the 64th copy, which was given to my great-grandparents, Joe and Ina Thurmond, in 1984. She married my great-great-uncle. My father's mother is Patsy Thurmond-Van Meter. Her father's brother married Ann Vance. I found this book at my parents' house, while looking for old books to put in a birdcage I restored and decorated. By the way, to see a how-to-blog on making your own birdcage decor, click here.

Upon finding this book, I set it aside from the others, and thought I'd read it prior to putting it on display. What intrigued me, you might ask? The first page. The introduction.

Finally, to my great-grandchildren now and those to come in other generations who might like to know how people lived in my time.

She was born in 1894.

The book consists of short stories, and ends with poems and pictures. I was absolutely fascinated with her way of sharing her story. It was concise, frank, honest, and endearing. Her words put my life in perspective. She actually churned butter. She had to walk to fetch water to wash her hair. Her family's mode of transportation was horse-and-buggy. She describes many fascinating little stories, and I could honestly devote an entire blog to her book. I thought I'd focus on just a few of my favorites, to keep this post concise, and explain why I believe her life to be one that was well-lived.

An original poem expressing her love and admiration for sunsets. She viewed them as a gift from God, and they inspired her. I think we are all innately meant to feel this way, and technology and accessibility has easily distracted us from the simple pleasures in life.

One of her original poems. I'd love this framed in my home! What a great reminder. Applicable then, applicable now. 

Finally, I'd like to share a short story. This one is called "Flying With An Umbrella..."

As a child we would dry our fruit on top of the roof which also covered the porch area of our home. We would put a sheet on top of the roof at the porch section. We would slice the fruit and lay it on the sheet to dry in the sun.

It was my responsibility to put the fruit on the roof. I would climb a ladder to the top of the porch and either a brother or my sister would hand me the fruit to be dried. I would make my way over to the sheet, spread out the fruit, and then slowly climb back down the ladder.

One day I thought of an easy way to get down from the roof. "Why not try to fly?," I thought. I had an idea. I took the big black umbrella from the closet. This was a family umbrella used for rainy days. Slowly I climbed the ladder and stood near the edge of the porch roof. Then I made a big jump. However, my flight from roof to ground was very short and very disappointing since I quickly discovered that the umbrella turned completely inside out during this experiment. Once I landed on the ground I went to straightening the umbrella back so my parents wouldn't know what I had done. I knew they would think it was a foolish trick.

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Ann Vance Thurmond lived to be in her nineties. I never met her, but feel like after reading this book, I am not a distant relative at all. I am so grateful for her story. She had a beautiful and happy childhood. She went to college. After paying off her debts, she married her "sweetheart," my great-great-uncle, and had three children. Looking at her family tree, I see she had eight great-grandchildren in 1984. I hope on some level, she knows that her life was one that inspired. 

Well done, Ann Vance Thurmond. Well Lived.