Creativity as a Neccessity

As I was growing up, Creativity wasn't just a characteristic.  Creativity was a necessity.  Pastor's aren't usually named as the top producer's economically, therefore much creativity is involved in so many aspects - cooking, cleaning, gift-giving, and lots more.

Thank God that my Nana had a natural creative talent that she developed into my Mother's character.  Nana came up with things like "Spaghetti Lasagna" - she had run out of lasagna noodles and substituted spaghetti noodles instead.  She always has come up with neat and creative ways to do things. 

Once, while visiting with my kids, she offered to make us chicken stir fry.  I assure you that Nana's stir fry isn't the same as your accustomed to.  It is simply chicken and broccoli normandy put into a frying pan and cooked with a little oil.  Well, when she served it to us it was purple-pink!  Out of respect for her, I didn't ask or complain, but I guess my face said it all.  She explained that she couldn't find BBQ sauce and that raspberry vinaigrette worked just as well.  It did!! It was great and definitely something I never would have tried had it not been for my respect for Nana.

Other times, things that she's tried just haven't worked so well.  She once decided to make chili for dinner.  She didn't have any dried beans and only a limited supply of canned beans.  She made what she could with what she had and decided that maybe she would add just one can of hot beans to the mix (someone had given a couple cans to her and she was looking for a way to get rid of them anyway).  She left it to cook on the stove and continued with her daily chores.  Papa came into the kitchen and decided he would help her bean "dilemma" by adding just one can of hot beans to the mix.  He also left it to cook and decided he would keep his good deed to himself.  Aunt Honey, who lives across the street, decided she would stop by to see how Nana's chili was coming along.  Nana didn't answer when she called to her, so she just checked for herself.  Well, maybe she could help by adding just one can of the hot beans.  That should be just enough, lol.  Yep - you guessed it - when dinner finally got into the mouths of those three, they ALL knew something had gone wrong!  All three wondered why the one can of hot beans they had added had made it too hot.  The truth finally got out when Nana asked the question out loud.  They all had a good laugh and a couple trips to the bathroom.  I have to say that maybe this one would have turned out alright if it hadn't been for all the "help", lol.

Anyway, my mother has inherited this creativity.  It is a good thing, cause it is a necessary trait to have in any Pastor's family.  Money isn't something that Pastor's are known for having.  We homemade most of our gifts each Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Come to think of it, she even was creative with her discipline.  There was many a time that she couldn't reach us or the wooden spoon - she just threw whatever was closest.  Most of the time she didn't hit us, but we got the point.  I remember once complaining, "Mom!  I do everything around here!  I don't want to...."  I must have been only 5 or 6 at the time, but she literally made me do everything for the rest of the day.  I vacuumed, washed, dried, folded, and put away laundry, made sandwiches for lunch, swept and mopped the floor - all under the watchful, but unhelpful eye of my mother.  I'm sure I didn't really do everything, but to a 5 or 6 year old it seemed like everything! And, I sure never said that again - from then on I had a reality check as to what "everything" really meant.  I also remember her grounding me to my bed until I could finish a whole chapter book - and the book was the ONLY thing I was allowed to have on my bed.

I find myself being creative with my own family.  I can tell my husband, creatively, where to go and how to get there!