One of the members there asked...."will you hold out one of your down to earth hands...?" and I wrote this in response:
Oh yes...I know those hands...chipped nails, scarred skin and all. The same hands that have grubbed in the soil, kneaded bread ,wiped tears and stroked little heads.
Those hands tell the story of your life and I always smile when I see another set like mine. Those hands are seldom empty and always available to take those of another in need.
My mother has hands like mine-and each day I'm proud to see more and more of her in myself.
These photos are of my left hand ( I'm right handed and taking a photo was a *little* tricky!).... I don't wear my wedding or engagement rings-haven't done since 2004 when I started training in the ocean for an English Channel Relay swim ( I was terrified of losing them). I don't need obvious accoutrements to know that I am married and committed to that marriage............and hasn't the choice to not wear my rings caused quite some conversations over the years!
I have some arthritis in a couple of fingers-the same ones which were broken and dislocated playing sport ( I gave up netball two years ago due to my neck issues)...unusually my hands & nails are clean-because at this point I'm still not able to garden.....in a few weeks there will soil under my nails again!
What story do your hands tell about you?
Well...my hands and fingers are currently swollen due to carpal tunnel and I stopped wearing my wedding and engagement rings. Heard horror stories of pregnant women having to get their rings cut off their fingers and that's not something I'm prepared to do.
ReplyDeletePS: This is a great post idea!
Trishie I swelled horribly with my pregnancies-I learned as I went along to take the rings off early! :) It doesn't last for ever...and I empathise about the carpal tunnel-mum used to have awful trouble with it. :)
DeleteMy fingernails are dirty as I have just been weeding with cotton gloves on and even the gloves are caked with mud! Now I have to try and get my fingernails clean before going to work tomorrow. LOL! That was funny that you mentioned wedding rings today as I was saying to my son this morning when I was looking in a jewellery shop window that I needed to buy a new wedding ring as my fingers have swollen now that I am older and I will probably need to get my ring cut off.
ReplyDeleteLast time I was able to do some gardening I didn't realise that there was a hole in the end of one of the glove fingers-that soil took forever to get out from under my nails!
DeleteThat could easily be my hand - shape and all. My rings were cut off when I had eldest some 17 years back and I never got them fixed - there was always something more important to spend on. Hubby stopped wearing his about the same time as it just got in the way. We know who we belong with :)
ReplyDeleteviv in nz
You must have lovely hands Viv! ;)
DeleteMy 50yo hands are weather beaten too. At the moment there is no dirt under my nails, not from lack of gardening but from chewing them...I know, I must stop! Take after my dad as he chews his constantly...I grew them a while back and they were getting really long but getting caught in everything. I have recently lost my ring that hubby handcrafted for me for our anniversary. I think it may be somewhere in the garden among the weeds I have pulled. Now I know why I shouldn't wear rings. I don't have a wedding ring yet, but will do next year hopefully :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post by the way :)
x
Tania I am a reformed nail biter but can't stand having long nails-they just get in the way!
DeleteYou will have to show us a photo when you get that wedding ring!
My hands are aging with brown spots, wrinkles and skin that can never get enough moisturizer. My hands look exactly like my Nana's did and I am happy to see them every day.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear that Jeanne. :) I'm of the mindset that every scar & blemish is part of the person you are-imagine skin that shoed nothing-to me it would show a life with no "life" in it!
DeleteKatrina Cromer said....Interesting read and made my brain whirl. My hands what is their story? Well this could take years to describe or just a little while.
ReplyDeleteSelf sufficiency caught my eye first we have a one acre block in Derrinallum and one day soon we'll do the same as you but for now we live and work in the Pilbara of North West Western Australia.....
My little frozen hands held crayons that were thicker than my fingers as I sat in a cold draughty class room of the 1960's until the teacher lit the old wood fire and warmed the space. My hands held cigarettes as I struggled to fit in with my high school peers wanting to be cool. My hands have held my lovers for over thirty years, lustful, loving hands ha ha . My hands have nurtured and comforted my five beautiful babies through triumph , failure, love and loss. My hands hold my amazing grandchildren as I am spell bound by how perfect, clever and sweet they are.
In the workforce my hands have tendered and cared for the aged. My hands are adorned by four rings, friendship, engagement, wedding and a ring given to me by my children for Mothers day five small diamonds representing each of them. My hands have gardened, sewn, cooked and cleaned enough for a million lifetimes. My hands have been held in friendship and have waved goodbye to family and friends as they've moved interstate and have hugged them in welcome on their return. My hands are rough and calloused and age and sun marked but when I look at them I see my life and all that I have.. My hands hold love..
Katrina that is a lovely story....when one of our daughters married last year I gave her the sapphire eternity ring and sapphire earrings His Lordship had given me as she wears them proudly. I want to hand on those sort of items BEFORE I die. :)
DeleteDerrinallum isn't that far from us-but is very different from the Pilbara!
Thanks for sharing with us. :)
Very different from Derri:) We reared our children in Buckley Vic and have worked here for five years ....two to go and then back to the east :) Until then I buy DVD's and books on sustainability and have enrolled to do a permaculture course online so once we get back it will be full steam ahead.
DeleteWorm farms...Compost....solar drying, preserves ahhhh daydreams
Have you seen River Cottage Australia? I watched the first four episodes on Youtube today.
DeleteI can see how our place will be in another 10years.....we aren't doing the full permaculture setup-but aspects where it works for me. I like a more "formal" garden...more English-so to please my eye I need to work out ways to incorporate everything I want in a way that makes me sigh with happiness when I look at it. :)
Haven't seen River cottage Australia will have a look today thanks. I just realized the book my daughter bought me for Christmas has a forum link on your site .(Down to Earth...will have a look) Have you read practical self sufficiency by Dick and James Strawbridge? Some fantastic hints and projects in there well worth the read. Cheers
ReplyDeleteMany Thanks for the shared this informative and interesting post with me.
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