"OH, IT'S been wonderful, Aunt Anne!" Merrilee sat down in the lawn chair and stretched her arms to the sun. "Of course, from the moment Marc said we were going to visit my folks for the spring vacation I knew it would be fun, but I didn't think it would be as nice as it was.
"You know, Aunt Anne, I think going home was never so much fun before. I told Marc about all the neighbors as we passed their houses. I showed him the little country school-house where I went to school and the hill where we went sledding in the winter and the sandpit where we went swimming in the summer. "Daddy was out in the field when we went by so we stopped and talked with him. Then he and Marc rode home on the tractor, and I drove the car in the rest of the way. Mother was so surprised to see me coming alone. She thought something terrible had happened.
"She hadn't expected us so soon so she was not quite prepared. She was just taking a peach pie out of the oven, so she set it outside to cool on top of a big crate. In about half an hour Marc and daddy came in, and daddy brought in the empty pie plate."
"You don't mean he and Marc ate it all alone?" Aunt Anne exclaimed.
"Oh, no. But just as they reached the house they saw Rover jump down from the crate and the pie was all gone. Mother was really upset about that because she knew how much Marc liked peach pie."
Aunt Anne laughed. "That's the way it always goes when you want to do something special." "Marc's so funny. You know, he told me the reason we were making this trip was to formally ask my father for my hand." Merrilee giggled. "So I guess he decided to get it over with so he could enjoy himself the rest of the time. He sat right down and said he had a very important question to ask. He explained that he would be graduating soon and that he was afraid if he waited longer to marry me someone else would get me, so he wanted to ask permission for us to marry when school was out. Daddy was a little surprised. I guess he thought it was a bit old-fashioned for a man to ask for a girl's heart and hand. But he said he certainly was in agreement, that he thought Marc was going to be a wonderful son-in-law, and he would do all he could to help us have a nice wedding.
"Then we had a simple country supper together. It tasted so good after dormitory food. Marc said if I was as good a cook as my mother he would surely be well fed. Marc and I did the dishes, and then we all sat out on the porch and talked."
Just then Uncle Lan entered from the back garden and joined in the conversation. "So you had a good time at home?"
"Oh, Uncle Lan, it was so much fun. I was just telling Auntie all about it."
"And did you decide on the wedding date?" Uncle Lan wanted to know.
"Well, yes, we did. We also decided to have the wedding here if you are willing, because Marc's folks will be here for graduation, and all our friends are here, and it's more central, and if you wouldn't mind------"
"Oh, Merrilee, how nice. I think that will be wonderful. Then I can help plan the wedding?" Aunt Anne's eyes shone.
"Oh, would you, Aunt Anne? You know mother isn't used to such things as you are, and she said she'd surely appreciate it if you would just take over. She will come two weeks before school is out and be here to help, but you just have to give us some ideas."
"Wonderful. I just love weddings. And it will be so nice having your mother here for a visit."
"I want it to be a sweet memory—not gaudy and so fussy that everybody is tired and cross, but simple and sweet so we can all enjoy it."
"That's very sensible, Merrilee. And it will be a wonderful memory. You really need things like that in this day and age of speed and excitement. So many hurry through life so fast they fail to enjoy it. Remember all during your life to take time out to build memories. It will be something that will hold you and your husband together, and it will hold your children to their home and to you. Do things together.
"Don't be too busy to play with your children. The play years pass so quickly." Aunt Anne sighed. "It took me a long time to learn that. Washing and ironing and mending are important, but they are not as important as your association with your children. When they are gone you always wish you had spent more time with them building family memories— something they can cling to when they get out in the world.
"Make your worship periods interesting to the children. Play Bible games with them. Let them lead out in worship. Let them play their instruments. Sometimes sing a prayer instead of having the regular prayer."
"Sing a prayer? What, for instance?"
"Our favorite was, 'Father, we thank Thee,' but we also used 'The Lord's Prayer' when they got older or 'Lord, in the Morning.' We always sang that one at breakfast on Sabbath morning."
"Didn't you have trouble finding a suitable time for worship with Uncle Lan gone so much and home at such irregular hours?"
"Well, at first we did. Then we decided to use the Morning Watch at the table every morning. Instead of trying to have worship in the living room when everyone was in a hurry to get going, we always had it as we ate together. We always read the verse and the commentary from the book and then had our prayer with our heads bowed as we sat at the table. We still do it that way, and I think our children all do it that way too."
"Evening worship—what did you do for that?"
"Well, that was harder to arrange, for sometimes daddy had someone to talk to or was on the phone, or we had to go to a meeting, so we decided to have worship by the children's beds after they were tucked in. It usually consisted of a good story—sometimes told by daddy if he
had just come back from a trip. Some nights we studied their Sabbath school lessons, other nights we repeated their memory verses for the quarter. But always there was a story of some kind. Then we listened to their prayers and kissed them good night. They always associated bedtime with worship and stories so it was never hard to get them to bed, and worship was never forgotten.
"Friday nights were different. Especially in the winter when the evenings were long and the sun set so early, we all gathered around the fire just as the sun set. Daddy read something—a passage from the Bible or something from one of Sister White's books that the children could understand. And always Daddy would point out how fortunate we were to all be together again.
"We had wonderful places to walk on Sabbaths when it was nice. In the summer when it was hot we walked in the paths and the shade felt good. And in the winter when there was snow on the trail we'd try tracking a rabbit through the snow. In the fall we'd take our binoculars and watch to see which birds were still with us and how many of them would stay for the winter. In the spring we picked the first violets and anemones and tried to guess which trees would get green first. Sabbath was our day for the family, and we tried to keep it that way as much as possible."
"Oh," sighed Merrilee, "you make it sound wonderful to have a family around you."
"Oh, everybody has happy memories, Merrilee, but you know, nowadays modern mothers all have to work, they think, and they are either too tired to think of making memories for their children or think they do not have time. Always remember, the things that make you remember home are the memories that keep you going when you're tired and discouraged and feel like giving up. Make them for your family."
(To be continued)
