Week 3 Story: Aesop's Fables in Real Life
Aesop's Fables are such amazing stories but did you ever stop to think of how they can apply in your real life? As I'm older than the typical college student (46) and have been married 26 years and moved 28 times in that 26 years thanks to my husband's career as a horse trainer, we have a lot of stories to tell. Every time we tell some of our stories, people say "you should write a book!" Well, maybe someday, but until then this will have to do. Here are a few of my "Life as an Aesop's Fable" stories (because Murphy's Law wasn't an option for this unit!).
The Tortoise and the Ducks: The basis of the original story is that Jupiter punished the tortoise by making him have to wear his house for the rest of his life and in the end his foolishness cost him his life. When you have moved 28 times in your adult life, you really learn about having to pack up your whole life and take it with you. Never once in this time have we hired movers, so you bear the weight of every single possession. We got really good at this when we didn't actually own any horses of our own. We could fit every single possession we owned into our 23 foot horse trailer and if it didn't fit in there, we didn't own it. You learn what is truly important when you have to continuously pack it all up, move it, & unpack it. You also learn to get over losing or ruining something because when you move that many times, it's gonna happen. We've had boxes get left behind, we've picked up a box only to hear broken glass & say "as long as it's not X, it'll be okay," only to find out that was the only thing in the box that was broken.
We've often joked that life would be much simpler for us if we had an RV as a home, that way everything was already packed when we had to move. We experimented with that as we lived 3 months in a 14' x 7' space in the living quarters of a horse trailer, as a family of 4. Let me tell you that was NOT the answer to our problems! We moved in during the summer and a horse trailer was never meant to be a full-time home so we were constantly blowing breakers in an attempt to keep the trailer cool. There were no closets or dressers, but after the horses were unloaded, we hung ropes in the horse part for our clothes & stuck a couple dressers back there but you had to sweat to death and usually in the dark to find clothes that were all crammed together. Luckily we could use a friend's real shower because the tiny RV shower wasn't going to cut it. Cooking on 2 burners & no oven for a family, you got really creative. Dishes were stored in strange places so you had to really plan out what you were doing ahead of time. You learned to go outside for entertainment because all you could do inside the living space was lay in bed to listen to the radio or watch DVD's. Ummm, "adult time" with no bedroom door & kids 3 feet away, not gonna happen! That required planning and a sense of humor for sure! The experiment came to an abrupt end when it got to be November and we couldn't keep the water hose and lines from freezing up.
We've since adapted to apartment life & gone back to bigger furniture & more possessions, but even thinking about moving makes me go on a wild rampage of throwing stuff in the dumpster & many trips to Goodwill. While not the moral of this exact fable I used, "You can't take it with you" comes up many times in my life it seems. Honestly, if it was just me alone, or even once the kids are out of the house, I'd like to have less stuff, smaller furniture, less responsibilities and be able to travel more. You really can't travel and enjoy life if you tie yourself down with so many possessions. You do feel like that turtle having to carry his whole house (life!) on his back.
Author's note: I heavily adapted this from Aesop's Fables (Winter) "The Tortoise and the Ducks". The original story spoke of the tortoise being punished by Jupiter for missing his wedding because he was lazy. Jupiter made the tortoise wear his house on his back for the rest of his life. The tortoise was sad because he couldn't move very quickly because of his home. The ducks heard his story & offered to take him up in the air to see the world if he'd hold a stick in his mouth, but he had to keep absolutely quiet. He went to say something & fell to his death. The actual moral of the story is: Foolish vanity & curiosity often lead to misfortune. But to me, I related all the moving experiences to the tortoise having to wear his house on his back.
Bibliography: "The Tortoise and the Ducks" from Aesop's Fables (Winter). Web link.
The Tortoise and the Ducks: The basis of the original story is that Jupiter punished the tortoise by making him have to wear his house for the rest of his life and in the end his foolishness cost him his life. When you have moved 28 times in your adult life, you really learn about having to pack up your whole life and take it with you. Never once in this time have we hired movers, so you bear the weight of every single possession. We got really good at this when we didn't actually own any horses of our own. We could fit every single possession we owned into our 23 foot horse trailer and if it didn't fit in there, we didn't own it. You learn what is truly important when you have to continuously pack it all up, move it, & unpack it. You also learn to get over losing or ruining something because when you move that many times, it's gonna happen. We've had boxes get left behind, we've picked up a box only to hear broken glass & say "as long as it's not X, it'll be okay," only to find out that was the only thing in the box that was broken.
We've often joked that life would be much simpler for us if we had an RV as a home, that way everything was already packed when we had to move. We experimented with that as we lived 3 months in a 14' x 7' space in the living quarters of a horse trailer, as a family of 4. Let me tell you that was NOT the answer to our problems! We moved in during the summer and a horse trailer was never meant to be a full-time home so we were constantly blowing breakers in an attempt to keep the trailer cool. There were no closets or dressers, but after the horses were unloaded, we hung ropes in the horse part for our clothes & stuck a couple dressers back there but you had to sweat to death and usually in the dark to find clothes that were all crammed together. Luckily we could use a friend's real shower because the tiny RV shower wasn't going to cut it. Cooking on 2 burners & no oven for a family, you got really creative. Dishes were stored in strange places so you had to really plan out what you were doing ahead of time. You learned to go outside for entertainment because all you could do inside the living space was lay in bed to listen to the radio or watch DVD's. Ummm, "adult time" with no bedroom door & kids 3 feet away, not gonna happen! That required planning and a sense of humor for sure! The experiment came to an abrupt end when it got to be November and we couldn't keep the water hose and lines from freezing up.
We've since adapted to apartment life & gone back to bigger furniture & more possessions, but even thinking about moving makes me go on a wild rampage of throwing stuff in the dumpster & many trips to Goodwill. While not the moral of this exact fable I used, "You can't take it with you" comes up many times in my life it seems. Honestly, if it was just me alone, or even once the kids are out of the house, I'd like to have less stuff, smaller furniture, less responsibilities and be able to travel more. You really can't travel and enjoy life if you tie yourself down with so many possessions. You do feel like that turtle having to carry his whole house (life!) on his back.
(The Tortoise and the Ducks from Aesop's Fables)
Author's note: I heavily adapted this from Aesop's Fables (Winter) "The Tortoise and the Ducks". The original story spoke of the tortoise being punished by Jupiter for missing his wedding because he was lazy. Jupiter made the tortoise wear his house on his back for the rest of his life. The tortoise was sad because he couldn't move very quickly because of his home. The ducks heard his story & offered to take him up in the air to see the world if he'd hold a stick in his mouth, but he had to keep absolutely quiet. He went to say something & fell to his death. The actual moral of the story is: Foolish vanity & curiosity often lead to misfortune. But to me, I related all the moving experiences to the tortoise having to wear his house on his back.
Bibliography: "The Tortoise and the Ducks" from Aesop's Fables (Winter). Web link.
Hey Kat! I love when the stories that we read in this class parallel the stories of our own lives. While you may have come across some misfortunes through your experiment in trying to live in an RV, I presume that it had forced you to identify what genuinely holds value for you. You may have learned that material things have no where near as much value as the experiences you create and the time you share with your loved ones, but you probably also learned how to truly cherish the material things that you do have and not to take them for granted. That reminds me of how the turtle resented the fact that he was stuck with his shell and how he might have let that feeling of burden overshadow the value of protection and comfort that it brought to his life.
ReplyDeleteWow! Moving 28 times sounds exhausting. I applaud you and your family for packing up to move all by yourselves. It is tiring! A lesson of figuring out what is truly important in life is something that I’m sure you’ve come across plenty of times while moving. This is something that I feel a lot of people aren’t sure of how to handle properly, but it seems like you’ve got it down. Like you said, you can’t travel and enjoy life when you tie yourself down with all of your possessions.
ReplyDeleteHi Kat! I really liked how in your adaptation of Aesop's Fables you used it to connect to your own life. I''m a military brat, so I can feel your pain for moving around so much. I could really connect to your writing, seeing as we have similar experiences. Although moving is tough I could not imagine living in an RV for any length of time, whether it be long or short. Good luck with your future moves!
ReplyDeleteKat, let me begin by saying that I love this story because of how unique it is. It is also very tailored to you which I enjoy. Aesop's Fables can and should be applied to our own lives as I believe that was their original purpose. There were many factors that you pointed out in living in an RV that I had not previously thought of as I always imagined taking a few years off work/school to drive through America in one, one day. One thing I would like to comment on is the way you compared the RV to living in oneself, as the turtle does. A home is not simply a place for us to sleep, but one where we live and conduct some of the most intimate actions. It truly would be a curse to live in one's own shell as the turtle does.
ReplyDeleteHi Kat! I think you did a great job with this story because it is very unique to you and your life story. You did a fantastic job of incorporating Aesop’s Fables into your own words, which is probably its original intent. Thank you for sharing your story with us! Moving around a lot is very burdensome and it takes a lot of courage, even when moving is the only choice.
ReplyDelete