Shaped by the times we live in

During a lifetime, there are moments in time that shape and impact our lives. These moments can be a short-term occurrence or a long-term period of time. Regardless the length and intensity of the events, they can impact us in ways we might immediately recognize. Subsequently, there is a need to understand history and its impact on the individual as well as the collective who lived through the event.

At the time, I didn’t understand why she did it, but over 30 years ago, I noticed my grandma Olga (my mother’s mother) taking paper plates out of the garbage, cleaning them off, and storing them in a plastic bag. She didn’t know I had seen her do this, and she seemed to wait until others were not present when she did it. Grandma Olga didn’t talk about it, didn’t make a deal out of it and seemed to be a secretive task. I didn’t understand why she would do such a thing, was wondering why she didn’t understand the purpose of paper plates and was cynical about why a person would do such a thing.