The Good Old Days

I miss the friendly, relaxed attitude people seemed to have back then, and the respect that people showed for one another. I miss the slower pace of life, and the optimism I felt about the world. However, I don't miss feeding sopping wet clothes through a wringer, paying 10 cents to use a pay toilet in the department stores, or trudging to the library to use the encyclopedias if I needed a random bit of information. I guess there are pros and cons to everything.
 
Yes, I miss the good old days.

I miss being free, as in feeling as though the world was my very own for the taking, to do what I wanted, when I wanted, for as long as I wanted. There were few restrictions. Being home on time and going to school, really the only two restrictions that applied to me. When I was young and growing, no one relied on me, and free-time was playtime.

I ran, I laughed, I explored, I dreamed, and I lived... I mean I truly lived. I wasn't confined to the four faces of a white picket fence, and when I was due to be somewhere, there were no rides, no chauffer's, no door-to-door service, I went on foot or on bike, and I went in the sun, in the rain, in the sleet, and in the snow.

There was school plays, after school sports, class outings and trips, and exciting lead-ups to holidays, where we'd make paper ornaments and festive cut-outs, and then paste them on the windows in class, and childhood sleepovers were the best, where we lied awake until the wee hours talking, telling stories, and learning about life. There was no time-frame attached, and thinking back on it after all these years, it's as if time stood still.

I didn't think about the "what if's", and I definitely don't ever remember being bored. Downtime was a rarity, as I was on the go from morning until night, and no matter what straight, what corner, or what stretch of life I was on, it seemed endless with excitement and fresh newness, always something for the younger crowd to occupy themselves with.

An evening or day spent at a friends house was the best! You looked forward to getting together with the people you were close to all week, and then when Friday came along, you were free.

Everything was larger than life (size wise), and everything seemed so much more natural, pure, and clean back in the day than it does now. Getting in the family car and driving to grandmas house was like an expedition. It always seemed like a world away, even though she only lived across town.

We neighbourhood kids would assemble like a biker gang, everyone on their bicycles, in their pedal cars or ride-'em toys, we were readying to make a trek around the block, which seemed as though we were embarking upon an otherworldly journey to some place and some time outside that of reality.

Everything was magical, everything was an adventure, a mystery, and no one stood in my way.

As for the memories in the video, all of that, too! I remember it all, and all so vividly.

I woke with no aches and pains, my energy level was always high and on overtime, yet I never tired or powered out, it was as if I had unlimited reserves of fuel and stamina. I thought nothing of walking from one end of town to the other, and back again, to visit a friend, to take part in sports, a game, an event, a party, or simply to just get out and about and clear my mind.

The air was always abuzz with the sounds of kids laughing, cheering, playing, and having fun, and we weren't being subjected to and constantly bombarded with safety this, and safety that.

Gosh, what I would give to wake to my mom again gently rousing me from a sound nights sleep, making my way into the kitchen to eat breakfast, then bundling up and making my way out the door to walk to school. I recall how this time of the year, the streets and alleyways would be flooded with a rainbow of colours... red, yellow, orange leaves everywhere, and the rustle they made under ones feet.

I remember how the rain would shed off the hood of my jacket and how I would run from tree to tree to take cover for a few minutes, before darting to the next tree protected spot ahead.

When fall progressed and nights were visited by a heavy frost, I'd take the alleyways to and from school, because I loved to step on the freshly frozen and thin sheets of ice that covered all of the puddles along the way.

When winter came and snow blanketed all, it was a whole new adventure... snow forts, snowmen, snowball fights, tobogganing, skiing, making angels, digging tunnels, nothing was off the charts, we were only limited by that of what our minds dreamed.

One thing that always remained the same all through the years, was mom was always at home when we kids arrived home from school. The house always filled with the smell of fresh baking, supper on the stove or in the oven, the lights on, the house warm, and the television waiting to be turned on so we could catch Gilligan's Island, The Flintstones, The Beachcombers, The Forest Rangers, and other classic television favourites of ours.

Gee-whiz... and just look how I lost myself remembering about the good old days.

I could ramble on and on... the stories and memories I have... endless.
 

Autumn said:
I miss the friendly, relaxed attitude people seemed to have back then, and the respect that people showed for one another. I miss the slower pace of life, and the optimism I felt about the world. However, I don't miss feeding sopping wet clothes through a wringer, paying 10 cents to use a pay toilet in the department stores, or trudging to the library to use the encyclopedias if I needed a random bit of information. I guess there are pros and cons to everything.
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Call me crazy, Autumn, but old-fashioned wringer washing machines take me back to such a magical time.

Still remember the sounds, the actions, and even the smells associated with my moms old wringer washing machine when in use. Wringer washing machines (every time I see a picture of one) remind me of the days of cloth diapers and rubber pants.
 
I like that in the good old days, you could dream.... and if you worked hard, your dream might come true.

I like the youthful freedom.... you know, the staying out until the streetlights came on before going home to eat dinner together as a family.


I miss the simplicity and ease of life.

I miss the holiday traditions that have fallen by the wayside.
 
One thing that I remember well about the "good old days", is how neighbours and people were so willing to help one another, even when not asked. Our world, society today, lacks that in a really big way, and it's noticeable. I sense the void and so does my husband.

Back in the 70's, I remember an aunt of mine (who resided in Vancouver BC), new all of her neighbours well... unheard of for a big city, yet there was still a sense of closeness. had my aunt needed help or assistance with something, one of her neighbours would have surely helped her.

For years and years, my parents couldn't afford a pickup truck, yet there were neighbours on either side of us who would offer the use of their trucks, and when dad would turn down the offer, because he didn't want to inconvenience anybody, the neighbours would drop-by on their dump run day, load up whatever my parents had for yard waste, and take it away, and nobody expected anything.

I recall my mom calling out to me when she'd get started on something in the kitchen and found that she didn't have something, over the one of the neighbours I'd go with measuring cup in hand! A little flour, some sugar, whatever have you, and on payday when mom was back on her feet, whatever mom borrowed was returned, and returned faithfully. No forgetting, no pretending. There was integrity and honesty in folks back in the day.

My dad spoke of deals courtesy of a handshake. A handshake actually stood for something back in the day. Today, not so.

I can remember on more than one occasion, mom and dad extending invitations to others who were less fortunate, to come to our house for Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter dinner. Some did, many didn't, but when my folks extended an invitation, they meant it, and they cared.

A rarity it was when all of us kids weren't seated at the table at mealtime. My mom didn't just enjoy all of us at the table, she insisted we all be at the table when mealtime happened, and I carried the tradition forward.

Times were simpler back in the day, too. Everyone's moms held the household down... children were taken proper care of, and family life actually stood for something. Families made time and spent time with each other, and as an entire unit.

Back in the "good old days", whatever could be fixed, repaired, of patched - was, and if there was life left in something, you can bet every last stitch of use was milked out of whenever it was that was in use.

Mothers didn't stand in department stores hemming and hawing over what type or brand of disposable diapers to buy for their children. Everyone used reusable, washable cloth diapers, and those diapers served in the diapering of multiple babies bottoms before they were retired and repurposed into household cleaning, dusting, or wiping cloths. You didn't hear or see mothers crying and complaining over not being able to afford diapers for their children.

Fancy gimmicks and gadgets were few and far between. I remember making baby formula from scratch and preparing bottles for baby siblings. We had no fancy baby bottle warmer in our house. Instead, my mom and I would fill a small pot with water, set it on the stove, and with element on, hold the glass bottle suspended in the water until warm. Homemade baby food was another norm, there was no store-bought anything that came through the front door of our house.

People gardened, and on Sundays, everything was closed. Sunday's (back in the day) actually stood for something, it was a day of rest, and it showed. Neighbourhoods were quieter, there was a noticeable absence of noise along with the normal hustle and bustle that weekdays held, and Sunday night family dinners meant sitting down at the table to something special.

Gosh, how I miss those days...
 
Depends on the past you had; but I don't miss the "good" old days since going by the past I experienced, those days were only good if you were the "right" color and relieved yourself standing up.
 
I was thinking back to when me and my hubby bought our first house after my Husband got out of the Navy. Until he got out I was still living at my parents house in the City. A few months after he got out of the Navy I was looking outside and I saw them putting up a for sale sign on the house accross the street. I went out and told the guy I would buy it. The neighbors all got excited and quit a few of the men on the block along with my husband and my Dad remodeled the house and then we moved it. They were great neighbors.
 
I remember when kids would go around the neighborhood and ask if there were any chores you'd like done like lawn mowed or snow shoveled and they'd be ecstatic if you gave them 25 cents. Kids don't do that anymore and even if they did, they'd want $20 or $30. Times have changed.
 
debodun said:
I remember when kids would go around the neighborhood and ask if there were any chores you'd like done like lawn mowed or snow shoveled and they'd be ecstatic if you gave them 25 cents. Kids don't do that anymore and even if they did, they'd want $20 or $30. Times have changed.
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When I started babysitting, .25¢ an hour was the going rate, but I can tell you I was thrilled to make .25¢ an hour.

When I finished up with babysitting (my teen years), I was making .50¢ an hour.

Fast-forward to when I started having babies. I had a great selection of sitters to rely on (mostly family), yet I still had two girls that used to do occasional evening babysitting for me when my mom mom, sister, or SIL were busy, and I paid those girls .50¢ an hour (that was in the 80's).

Nowadays, it's my understanding that a typical hourly rate for babysitting is $10-$15-$20 an hour!

Gosh, even at the .50¢ an hour I paid my sitters (non-family), that was a stretch for me. I would have never been able to leave the house paying out what the rates are today.
 
debodun said:
Not even a candy bar. When I was a kid. with 25 cents you could get 5 candy bars at the corner market, and they were full-sized, too.
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I remember going to the store with .10¢, sometimes as much as .20¢, and leaving with a little brown paper bag with an array of candy in it.

What a special occasion that was for me.
 
Gosh yes my sister and I would go to the corner shop near my Grandparents with some saved pocket money
and we would come back with a small brown bag each with a variety of lollies and sometimes if we had enough
pocket money we would buy a comic each....memories 😊
 
peramangkelder said:
It didn't really matter what you got paid for baby-sitting because the 'job' made you feel important
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Boy, Peram, did you ever knock that one clear out of the park! Yes!!!

Important and mature (grown-up), absolutely, and when I think about it, babysitting was more involved back in the day.

A typical babysitter needed to know some basic things... things such as making homemade baby formula and baby food, warming a baby's bottle to the right temperature... not too hot, then checking the temperature of the formula before bottle-feeding a younger baby, or handing the bottle to an older baby or toddler.

Folding and knowing how to use cloth diapers was another important "need to know" for a babysitter... thicker in the front for boys, thicker in the back for girls, and when extra-added absorbency was needed for nighttime, naptime, outings, or for an older, heavy wetting child, diapers were doubled, referred to as double diapering.

Rubber pants and diaper pins completed the cloth diaper package, and at various points through the day when changing diapers, rubber pants were checked for wetness, soiling, and/or odour, and changed when needed. Wet and soiled diapers and rubber pants went into a waiting plastic diaper pail, and 100% cotton reusable baby washcloths were used to clean a baby's bottom, not disposable baby wipes.

Cloth diapers with rubber pants got wetter more quickly than disposables, so regular checking and changing of the diapers was important to avoid skin irritation, or worse... diaper rash, and a change of diapers right before bedtime when putting a baby or child down for the night, was a longstanding practice of mine, whether diapers needed changed or not. Took but a minute, didn't cost anything, and ensured that said child or children were seen off to bed in their cribs for the night with a nice warm, soft, comfy bottom.

For those who experienced babysitting fulltime, there was crib bedding to strip, diapers to wash, meals to prepare, and the list ran on.
 
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Recently a few of us were sitting having coffee and one of the gentlemen and I were reminiscing about what fun we had as kids. I turned to him and said we all had a terrific childhood, John and he agreed. But one of the women piped up and said hers was awful. I think we were dumbstruck at that admission, but of course, I do know some children had it unpleasant. And needless to say, those who were growing up in war zones had a dreadful childhood. I am not so cavalier about the "Good Old Days" anymore.
 
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