Perking Up The Blues by Myrtle Todd

I was born and raised in rural Mississippi. My parents died when I was very young, so I was sent to live wtih family members in the area. I had to grow up fast. Although they were good people and treated me like their own, I missed having a mother and father something awful. But even as a child, I decided that there were two ways to look at your circumstances. You could say, "Poor little me" or "I'm lucky to be alive and one of God's children."
I married young, like so many girls back in the 1920s and 1930s, and I welcomed six children to this earth. I tried to pass my belief in staying positive along to each child.
I was always a good worker, proud of being a physically strong woman. I could work on the farm right along with the men, if need be. I tried to pass along my belief in the value of hard work to my children, too. But the truth is, when you get to be as old as I am, it's difficult to do that hard work. You have to get help for this and that, and you find yourself longing for your old strength back again.
Staying positive is now something that I have to remind myself to do. I'll always be thinking of ways to keep from getting down in the dumps. My favourite remedy is music. So if I start feeling a little puny, I just pick up my old guitar and sing a few hymns.
Before I know it, I'm perked right up again.