June 2 is the birthday of Martha Washington, born in 1731 near Williamsburg, Virginia.
By all accounts, America’s first First Lady was a dignified, gentle woman. Abigail Adams called her “one of those unassuming characters which create Love and Esteem.”
One visitor described meeting Martha: “We dressed ourselves in our most elegant ruffles and silks, and were introduced to her ladyship. And, don’t you think, we found her knitting, and with a checked apron on! She received us very graciously and easily, but after the compliments were over, she resumed her knitting.”
Like her husband, Mrs. Washington loved home life at Mount Vernon. But during the Revolution, whenever the Continental Army was in winter camp, she left home to join her husband and lift the troops’ spirits. “I never in my life knew a woman so busy from early morning until late at night as was Lady Washington, providing comforts for the sick soldiers,” recalled one woman who lived at Valley Forge. “Every fair day she might be seen, with basket in hand . . . going among the huts seeking the keenest and most needy sufferers, and giving all the comfort to them in her power.”
Martha was a warm, hospitable First Lady, but she wasn’t overly fond of the role. “I think I am more like a state prisoner than anything else,” she confided to a niece. Yet her willingness to serve equaled her husband’s. “I cannot blame him for having acted according to his ideas of duty in obeying the voice of his country,” she wrote to a friend. “I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.”
Great words to live by today
“greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances”
Think Hillary and Nancy feel like that?
Another fantastic post of such Inspiration by one of our Own Original Patriots! I wish we could swap Martha for one of the hate-filled shrews who sit in Congress, who are blessed beyond belief, yet consumed with their own importance. In our early families, that natural honesty, honor, integrity, intelligence, character, and compassion that was a normal part of the great character of our Founding Families, did not manage to survive the times. Those highy regarded qualities have all been thrown aside in exchange of the false illusion of lasting power over others.
It seems strange that I am able to look back in my life, and to able to see exactly when the people in my government became a group of dissidents, liars, thieves, haters, power addicts, and war mongerers, with evil intentions at every turn. This could easily be the last chapter of an amazing story. By the Grace of God, who reigns over our land, and over most of our hearts and minds, we will not allow that travesty to happen on our watch. God Bless all of you Patriots, and God Bless and Keep Safe the United States of America.