Saturday June 20, 2009...Different worlds

It was so nice getting together with all my friends and acquaintances from high school at the reunion. The one thing I especially noted was that we were all from the same background and carried many of the same childhood values throughout our lives.

Life is so different now and the patience and understanding and values that we developed during our childhood after World War 2 are so very different from the values of later generations. We grew up with a different attitude because many of our parents had experienced the great depression and the World War. We were made to appreciate the value of simple things and to make them last. We did not grow up in a “throw away” world. There were no fast food restaurants. In fact without microwaves and dishwashers cooking and cleaning in our world took time and care. Many of us grew up without air conditioning and without television, so ours was an outdoor world and a world where your imagination created the playing field. Our smaller houses without many labor saving devices were where the family came together each evening for supper. After supper, in our house, the kids did the dishes. Mom had enough to do just cooking and cleaning and washing clothes and ironing clothes and grocery shopping, so the kids had to help clean on Saturdays before they could listen to the radio and did the dishes every evening. The only time we ever ate out at restaurants was when we went on vacation. Other than that, we had potluck dinners with church and scouts and relatives. It was a “make do” world with decent home values. It felt good to be with other people from the same background and similar values. We seemed to understand each other.

My kids and grandson don't understand the importance of making things last and repairing and attempting to keep operating those things that they would just throw away. They have a hard time staying away from the fast food chains and preparing simple meals at home from scratch. Theirs has been a world of prepared foods and throw away and grab a bite. Sitting down to supper with the family is a novel idea to them and a world without television makes them shudder.

I guess life goes on at a different pace, but I feel more comfortable with the simpler life that I grew up with.