Kitchen

[beckyb1012]

The days when not only were stores closed on the holidays for families to be together but hardly any retailers were open on Sundays. It did have its down side but it made more folks spent Sunday afternoon visiting in the backyard playing Crouquet and drinking sweet tea.

[expatgal]

I guess I would say I just wish there wasn't so much pressure on women today. To BE a certain way, to LOOK a certain way, or to THINK a certain way. No longer are you "allowed" to decide to stay at home, raise a family, cook meals, etc. Having it all seems to be the norm now with young women and at age 60, I know in my heart it simply isn't possible. Women are only "accepted" in today's society if they have careers outside the home, look perfect at all times, and have a wonderful, well adjusted family. It even sounds impossible when you type it!

[kittymomNC]

I'm in agreement with others here - living in a much simpler time. Technology is wonderful, but sometimes I think we can have way too much of a good thing. This question has really got my mind going, so if I write too much, just skip it and go on to the next post.

I wish all kids could experience the kind of childhoods a lot of us did, at least for a while so they could know what it was like. Who knows, some of them might even like it! When I was very small, we lived in the country and my brother and sister went to a one-room schoolhouse, pot bellied stove and all. There was a swinging bridge over the creek behind the school. We moved away from there right before I started school and I was mad because I wouldn't get to go to the one-room school. My mom made my older brother take me one day - I had a great time but he hated it!

As young kids, we played volleyball over the back fence with our neighbors, played marbles in the dirt, kick the can at night when no one was afraid to allow their kids outside at night, climbed the china berry trees and talked to each other from the trees! We laid out in the grass and stared up at the stars at night, and in the daytime stared up at the clouds to decide what they looked like. We used our imaginations (fancy that!) to figure out fun things to do. We had an old shed, and I used to get up on top of it on cloudy days and read books - I loved to read, and still do.

Since we didn't have A/C we slept on the floor in the living room sometimes with the doors open so the breeze would come through -- no one ever bothered locking their doors at night or when they left the house. When we were older, we sat on the porch and watched the cars go by and played a game of naming the cars. Back then we pretty much knew the make, model and year of every car that passed - that was before all cars started looking so much alike. They had character!

As teenagers, we had dances at the community center, dancing to that "dreadful" rock and roll music! I was a high school cheerleader, and our sponsor threatened to ban the records when we started dancing the "Twist" at our dances we held after home games. We "went steady" and that was a big deal! We didn't drink (ok, there were a few who did), but some of us thought it was a REALLY big deal to have a drink at our graduation parties. We didn't really know about "pot", "weed", "grass", etc. We heard rumors, but weren't sure about it. And those great cars - drag racing where we shouldn't -- what a blast! But maybe I shouldn't go there......

I could go on forever, but this is too long already. It just really got me thinking about the way things used to be. We didn't have much money, but back then, it just didn't seem to matter that much. Now it's like if you don't have a big house, a new car, all the newest tech gadgets, and have your face buried in a phone, you're missing out on something. Funny thing is, I don't have all those, and I don't feel like I'm missing a thing.

[vabreeze]

I miss the family outings to the drive-in theater and eating the snacks there. I miss watching/listening to TV and radio when words like dammn, as$, a-hole, helll yes/no, etc. were forbidden and when adult TV programming was not in your face before children's bedtimes. I miss the safety that existed when I was a young kid that allowed me to walk to another neighborhood child's house, go rollerskating or bike riding through the neighborhood without being accompanied by a parent as is the case today for fear of being abducted or molested. I miss knowing my neighbors.

[house_cat]

I agree with every thing that has been mentioned here. I'm not a reactionary person. I like progress and I love technology. However, somewhere along the way we lost something really important. I work with 12 year olds for a living. I get to know hundreds of them in a year and I truly believe that if left alone for an hour, with no technology, they wouldn't have a clue what to do.

[kittymomNC]

I also think a great deal of our advancements in technology, manufacturing, etc. are due in part to the fact that the people who have contributed so much started out as young kids who were FORCED to use their imaginations because they didn't have much else to do. They could imagine, and dream, and a lot of those dreams became our reality. What are future generations going to do as a result of being so caught up in the current technology, that they never exercise the parts of their brains that have produced all the wonderful things we have now?

[IamMrsG]

I'm probably bringing 'the bomb' into the room; but the OP asked, and here's my honest answer:

I'd bring prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance back to the classroom.

[beckyb1012]

On 7/28/2014 IamMrsG said:

I'm probably bringing 'the bomb' into the room; but the OP asked, and here's my honest answer:

I'd bring prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance back to the classroom.

Amen and God Bless America. So agree with you Mrs.G!!

[house_cat]

On 7/28/2014 beckyb1012 said:

On 7/28/2014 IamMrsG said:

I'm probably bringing 'the bomb' into the room; but the OP asked, and here's my honest answer:

I'd bring prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance back to the classroom.

Amen and God Bless America. So agree with you Mrs.G!!

When did it leave the classroom? My school says it every day, as do all the schools in our district and my teacher friends back east still say it every day.

[Poodlepet2]

Housecat, this summer we bought a weekend getaway on Pine Island Fl...It is wonderful in that we have gorgeous views and cooling breezes at night, but what we love most about it is what we chose NOT to put there. We bought one tv because we do live in "Hurricane Land" and in this volatile world, we want to keep abreast of the news. Radio reception is poor, and we saw no need for satellite.

Every weekend that we go there, we always have this conversation about how much it reminds us of our childhood and simpler times....I've noticed I am so much more relaxed without all the technology. Yes, I have my Kindle with me, but I engage in reading.

...and I don't know what it is about this place-but I am on a complete "cooking from scratch" jag. Well, I cook reasonably well at home, and there are days where I will avail myself to the use of canned, frozen or pre-prepared. I have some nasty osteoarthritis and sometimes the pain can be unbearable, so maybe I won't be too hard on myself. All that being said, when I cook on the weekends, it has got to be from scratch-just like my mother cooked. It's all a part of the desire to live in that simpler, less complicated time, and your topic has made me realize that.

It's funny because I am working on a cotton sweater that I know would be cheaper for me to buy than to make, but intrinsically, the making of it raises my spirit....It is not mass made or disposable-and I think that not only is technology a problem, but there is so much waste now and so much disposability.

One thing DH and I are discovering is that the older we get, the less we really need.

Poodlepet