The Promise Of Charity Short Story

In 1831, when Charity and Henry had their first son, Henry and his father built a room onto the small cabin. A year and a half later, they had another son, whom they named Charles. The one extra room had sufficed, but now that Charity was expecting her third child, they were making ready to build another room to allow the family room to grow.

Nancy and Eli were very proud grandparents- Charity often felt that her babies were getting all the love and attention they would have given their own children had they not died during that horrible yellow fever epidemic.

Over the last three years, Nancy had taught Charity how to put together a good meal, oftentimes having very little to work with as far as ingredients go. They gathered herbs from the herb garden, picked vegetables and dug potatoes from the spring and fall gardens, and even ventured out into the forest to gather different things at different times of the year that did not grow in their gardens; nuts, berries, bay leaves, wild sage, greens, and even medicinal herbs that they either preserved or dried, according to what it was. And, Nancy taught her how to care for her family, other than feeding them and making sure they had clean clothes and beds to sleep in. She taught Charity to be gentle, yet firm with the children, and showed her how to stretch their provisions, to make them last longer and go further. She often saw Nancy wait until everyone else was served before she fixed her own plate- to these things Charity paid close attention. Nancy taught her how to make quilts, not from the hides of animals they way her grandmother had, but from cloth; flour sacks, cotton and flannel material bought from traders, or from the Fort, even to use old worn out clothes when available. Some of the quilts they made were colorful with many different pieces of cloth- solid and patterned. Some of the quilts were plain, with maybe a solid color, and starburst of varied colors in the middle. They had made her and Henry a large one and they had made one for each child; both started while they were still in the comfort of her womb. “What a blessing it is, to have a home you can be proud of. It don’t matter whether its two rooms or a dozen, you want to keep it clean and welcoming, something you can proudly hold your head up and say, “I did this myself!” Nancy told her as they sat across from each other over the quilting rack sewing on another quilt, this one, for the unborn child Charity was carrying. “I wish we could get a hold of some pretty patterned material for this quilt- I think this baby is going to be a girl,” said Nancy. “You think so,” said Charity. “You’re probably right; this baby does feel different; it moves slower and has been easier to carry.” “I know I’m right,” smiled Nancy. “Your hips have spread out with this one; with the other two, you were out front.” Charity looked at Nancy and then smiled. She would be happy to have a daughter- she could teach her all the things Nancy and her grandmother had taught her. She just hoped that she could be half as good a teacher for her daughter as they had been for her…” *** Nancy was right- Charity’s third child …show more content…
She had been married nearly half her life. She had borne seven children and still looked like a young girl herself. Her two oldest boys were already taller than she was as were the older girls. The oldest, Uriah, was almost thirteen. Next, come John, Martha Jane, Charles, Nancy, then Aaron, and baby Mary. Her emotions were torn every which way- hugging Nancy, crying because they were leaving, and feeling excited to be going, all at the same time- she hadn’t felt this way since she and her grandfather had struck out for Fort Charlotte fourteen years