We Thought We Had It Figured Out

When we raised our children we thought we had it figured out; you know the It, that thing that makes everything just perfect. We did as our parents had done, we each worked hard and very often long hours, sometimes multiple jobs to build that dream. You know, looking back ,one thing I found out is that you don't just get to go through life - oh no - you have to pick it up and carry it with you every where you go and it gets heavier with time. Think about what I just said and see if you don't agree, life does get heavier as you go through it as you make commitments, have more children, get that perfect house and buy more stuff...you never have enough stuff...and of course you did it on credit so you have that weight added as well.
I guess where I'm going here is that you go through this for only one reason, for your children. Why else would you get up in the morning and as you are getting dressed strap on the weight of your obligations if not for the sake of your children. They are worth it you know...every darn pound you have to carry and more...even when they do dumb stuff and make mistakes, you know they are trying to find their It and occasionally stagger under the weight of their choices and commitments as well.

"Back In The Day"

Back in my day things were solid...just look at the cars, they were built like tanks. The houses had bigger lumber in them and more of it. Have you ever wondered why there are lots of old houses still around, withstood the ravages of time and storms...duh...they were built like tanks.


And toys, if you were lucky enough to have them, were built the same way - none of this buzz buzz, ring ring, zap zap zap, feed me batteries (God forbid made in China) - our toys were most often made to support the weight of the child like skates,wagons,scooters and the wonder of all wonders, the bicycle. I spent half my childhood on my bicycle, must have traveled half a million miles or so, and I grew up on the side of a mountain so for every mile of exhilaration downhill there was the inevitable struggle back up.


I think this time on my bicycle as a child really taught me something about life, the "Ying and Yang" of it. Life can be such an easy coast downhill, hair blowing in the wind and eyes watering, laughing and having a great time until you hit bottom and have to turn around and struggle back up that hill. If you have to climb that hill when you are old, you have to stop often to get your breath and sometimes you might even slip back down before regaining your stride. But in the struggle there is the gratification of winning the little battles along the way - I compare it to not being hit by the unforseen car coming down the hill.

Life Was Safe, Simple and Secure

Life was safe, simple and secure...we were free to be children. During the long summer breaks from school we would leave home to play in the morning and not return until we got hungry, tired or it was bedtime. Our parents knew that we would return safe and sound - that was the norm - not the exception.

Our parents also knew that if they worked hard to provide for us then we, their children, would have a better life than was afforded to them. My Mother and Father chose to live this way, they both had recently returned from over seas defending our country in WWII and now were looking forward to realizing the "American Dream"...the simple life,a focused if not single minded view of raising a family the old school way.

Was there anything wrong with this simple and safe existence? Looking back on my childhood I can see that it was a great time to be alive. Naturally I didn't appreciate it at the time because I was the child and from my perspective this was the way things were supposed to be. I'm pretty sure my parents felt the same way...this basic simplicity was the expected norm.

What Is It That Has Changed?

What is it that has changed? Like my parents during their lives, my Wife and I believe in the "American Dream"...work hard to provide for our children and everything else would come together just like it had for our parents. I guess this simplistic pattern doesn't work like it used to - and why doesn't it? What was wrong with living that way? Why couldn't we bring up our children in this simple fashion and why can't they raise their children this way?

Videos are snippets of life

As I said before my life as a child was a simple one, if you were lucky enough to have a toy you played with it until you wore it out. There were very few electronics, no video games, no computers, most toys had wheels... like skates, wagons, bicycles and toy trucks and cars: