By Susan Govern
Over the years I have enjoyed reading many entertaining and thought-provoking newspaper columns, essays and personal stories. On occasion these writers have made me think, laugh and cry, depending on their subject of choice. With this essay and future ones, I am humbly attempting to follow in their footsteps.
In my life, just as I am sure it is for you, I experience times that make me exclaim words of anger, sadness, fright, or joy, and these are the moments I wish to share with you. I’ve titled this column “Train of Thoughts” – plural – mainly because sometimes one thought leads to another, and then another like a train moving on a track passing town after town. Then there’s the second reason – sometimes my mind just plain derails and I’m not sure where I was going.
The world we live in seems to change quickly, like the passing scenery on a train ride. As a wife, and mother of a grown son and daughter, I find that the most challenging thing in my life is trying to keep up to date on technology and how it affects our family. Technology (that is cell phones in particular) can be a blessing and a curse. Cell phones keep us connected like no other previous generation. I can’t help but laugh when I take time to reflect on my early efforts to figure out how my phone worked – and texting with all those abbreviations was a whole other set of trials.
On days when I’m angry at myself for not remembering to charge it and my phone goes dead just when I need it most, or I am frustrated because I have once again misplaced it somewhere in my house, I often think back to a time a few years ago when I had teenagers at home and my frustrations had nothing to do with technology and more to do with household tasks – like grocery shopping and laundry.
Now many parents of teens will say they need to grocery shop every few hours, or at least once a day, to keep their teens fed. I found this back then to be more myth than fact. With my son’s work schedule in those days, he was missing from meals so often that our grocery bill was reduced, along with my trips to the local supermarket. As a matter of fact, the store sent me a “We Miss You” card once because of my noticed absence.
However, less shopping posed a different frustration. Where once I had to buy enough for four (or more depending on my son’s appetite), now I had to learn to subtract so we didn’t have left-overs that no one was likely to want and that I ended up eating because I was raised to not waste food. Looking back, I really should have gone to the grocery store more often – not to buy more food – but to walk for the exercise.
Then there’s the subject of laundry. Many parents will note that in their teenager’s room the clothes are all over the place, leading to the question of what is clean and what needs to be washed. These same parents also will say they only work up enough nerve to enter their teen’s bedroom, to gather clothes for washing, after making sure they have received proper vaccinations.
Not so in my house. When my children were teens they had a set time for me to wash their clothes so they were clean for school. Sunday night, as they got ready for bed, and I was seated comfortably in front of the television, they brought forth their suddenly over-flowing hampers from their rooms and placed them before me.
I remember asking myself back then as I stared at those hampers, “Isn’t it wonderful to know that in this ever changing world, some things never change?!”
Meet the new writer:
NAME: Susan Govern
HOME: Twinsurg, Ohio
SPOUSE: Timothy Govern
CHILDREN: Daniel Govern, Shannon Govern
PETS: Sugar “Govern” (Dog)
SIBLINGS: None
EDUCATION: Graduated Nordonia High School 1977, Graduated Kent State University Dec. 1981 – Degree – Bach. Of Science in Journalism
EMPLOYMENT: Currently “retired” from office work
A little about me: Born in Euclid, Ohio and raised in Mayfield Hts., Ohio until start of Freshman year of high school (1973). Moved to Macedonia and entered Nordonia High School.
I am an only child; married into a large family. I have two children and have nine nephews and four nieces (plus three nieces by marriage). Also, now I have two great-nephews and one great-niece.
Family means everything to me. I enjoy being with family, even traveling with our extended family on vacations.
My husband and I love to travel and hope to do more of that in the future after he retires.
HOBBIES: Love to travel, enjoy reading and watching tv. Also enjoy movies – especially old musicals, but also enjoy a good action-adventure movie from time-to-time.
