Daily Bathing

Dear Byron,

We really enjoyed your visit a few evenings back. When Mommy and Daddy left to go to a movie, you didn't mind at all. We got out that old walker and away we went around the block. Had a good time doing it too. And when we returned to our house you had a good time messing with the stones in the pea gravel mix along the path. But then it got dark and we had to go into the house. Before long it was time to get ready for bed and a bath! Yeah, a bath! You really have a good time with those baths, dumping water from one cup to the next and splashing around with a wash rag.

I want to say something about bathing. Did you know that a long, long time ago folks considered it dangerous to take too many baths? Sylver Blaque writes about baths. I borrow some of this information from her.

In Medieval times, long, long ago, many European doctors believed that allowing water to touch, enter, swirl around the naked flesh caused disease, sickness, and eventual death. They believed water would seep into your system through the pores of your skin to flood the bather with impurities. They even considered it dangerous to drink water. That's why they drank ale instead.

Where Middle Eastern religious practices required bathing, medieval European church authorities saw bathing as a something really bad. You weren't supposed to even touch yourself. God forbids it, they said. And if you did, He would send you to be punished forever.

Though these people did bathe, they did so very rarely and wore a thin linen or muslin cloth gown to keep the water from entering their pores, as well as to keep their own hands from directly touching their bodies as they bathed.

In medieval castles, round tubs made of copper or wood were used to bathe in. Hence the term ‘bath tub.’

You can read more about how people bathed in Europe in those long ago times at various websites. Here's another I found that talks about Middle Ages Hygiene.

I want to say something more about those bath tubs. You see, I lived on a farm in southern Minnesota when I was your age. It was a little house and we didn't have a built in bath tub. Instead, my Momma would heat up some water on her wood burning stove on Saturday evening and pour it into a galvanized wash tub on the kitchen floor. It looked like the picture on the right. Then she'd plunk both my little sister and me into the tub and give us our weekly bath. And we didn't wear any clothes either. In winter when it gets very cold outside up there it felt good to be near that wood burning stove in the kitchen. 

Things sure are different now. Daily bathing is considered a good thing. I'm glad you enjoy it and I look forward to helping you with your bath again the next time you come to visit. 

With all our love, 

Papa

You're Our Trophy Winner

Dear Byron,

We all had a good time visiting Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Derrick this past Christmas, didn't we? You even got to stay with them all by yourself for a few days while Mommy and Daddy took a vacation jaunt to Las Vegas. And now you're back home in Houston. Here's a photo we took of you and Daddy in the backyard at Grandma's and Grandpa's place.

The photo looks like you're all set to make that long pass downfield. Now that full size football is a bit hard for you to spiral, but you're getting pretty good at passing a kid-size one with a great overhead throw, even though you're a few months short of two years old. It won't be long before you'll really have it down pat. And if you look at the photo you can tell that Daddy's quite pleased with your choice of sports.

Here in Texas there are lots of dads who really look forward to their sons playing football. As you'll soon find out, that sport is big, starting in grade school and continuing all through college. As you will also learn soon, Daddy graduated from Texas A and M—the fightin' Texas Aggies! The Aggies have really been making national news this year during their first year in the Southeast Conference. They  finished with a surprising 10-2 (SEC 6-2) record. They even beat Alabama, the number one college football team in the nation.

But the really big news was "Johnny Football", star freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel, winning the Heisman Trophy. And now he'll hopefully lead his team to a victory in the Cotton Bowl.

I don't know if you'll ever play football or be a great athlete. We'll have to see what happens and what abilities you have inherited from your family. Up to this point we have not been known as a family of outstanding athletes. Perhaps you'll start the tradition.

The point I want to make, however, is that we all want you to do the kinds of things with your life that both give you a sense of value and bring blessings to other people at the same time. Football is great, but what about becoming an outstanding engineer like Daddy or a brilliant lawyer like Mommy or a devoted teacher like Grandma Cheryl or prize-winning farmer like Grandpa Derrick? From my viewpoint, the world will always need committed pastors to lead Christian congregations and social workers like GGMa to find homes for little kids without parents. There are hundreds of opportunities to do great things. And even if you never become known as a trophy winner, we'll still be proud of you and love you. You are a special blessing to us all.

And above all never forget that Jesus made you His child and a member of His eternal family on the day you were baptized. He will always guide and lead you on the football field or wherever He wants you to be. After all, that's why we celebrated Christmas.

We're looking forward to your second birthday in a couple months. Maybe this year you'll get that spiral down really well.

We love you,

GGPa