That’s right! I’ll be 90 on May 18. And I’ve gone through many world and personal  changes these past 90 years. I like some of the changes but many I would like to see today. Neighbors talked “over  the fence” to neighbors, now we don’t even know their names. We don’t even know what our  family members are interested in. When they come to my house, they say, “Hi” but then sit down on the couch with their smart phones and look at what ever it is to look at.

I wish we had phones that hang on the wall. Everyone was on the same line as we were so we would run to the phone to “rubbernek”, and if someone had some trouble, we would go to help them.I remember our phone number. It was 58! Easier to recall, don’t you think?

Washing clothes was a really big thing in those days. We had to carry water at least a block and then heat it up on our wood burning stove and then scrape the big bar of soap into little pieces and put the soap into the wash water. Then we had to wash and rinse the clothes and hang them outdoors to dry. It took all day. I like seeing the washer and dryer siting side by side these days! After the clothes were hanging, it was time for our baths, so one at a time, we kids would get into the wash tubs.  was glad there was only three kids in our family!

We didn’t have a radio or television, but we cranked up the old Victoria and listened to the same songs over and over. But we did have pianos. One of the things I miss is the many evenings we gathered around the piano to sing until Mom called us to say coffee is done.I guess the television is better, but I wish we could have some singing around the piano.

Prayer in school was important during my school days. Everyone went to church and Sunday school and we were let out of school one hour a week for Bible Study. Dad was the one who taught the Lutheran study and the priest taught the Catholic study. There was only those two churches in my town.

Yes, I have seen changes in our part of the world. I grew up in the big depression, World War II, and many of the smaller wars, and now we have Issis and other terrorists to worry about. Living was much more simple when I was growing up, but most of the changes were good ones. We must admit that change is not without it’s negative concepts. We have trouble in our beloved America and the ones to change it is us, not the politicians. We, the American people must work to change our land.

 

 

 

That is the question. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. I have a lot of music I love to play, even though my fingers are covered with arthritis. I also have quite a bit of craft items, some of it is quite valuable and I don’t think any of my kids would want them.

I talked about this dilemma with some of the ladies, who are reaching the same age as me, One of the ladies, who had recently moved into a retirement home, shared her perspective:

“I found that your health plays a big part in deciding what to keep and what to either give away or discard. If you cannot do the things you used to do, the things you thought were so  important will seem less so,” she said.

And she probably is right. I have come into a time when I can’t move my old self like I used to, but I haven’t the gumption to get all the old things out. My file drawers are filled with stories I wanted to have published, Christmas cards from many friends and which I look at once in awhile and letters and pictures I’d hate to throw away. Of course, there is the music and tapes I think I really want.

Maybe I’d better just leave the stuff, but that would be tough for the kids. It does seem that God provides whatever we need when we need them. He takes the desire away when things no longer matters at the right time too. I guess I’ll wait for when God tells me that I should do what I need to do. That’s what I’ll do!