Living To Work, Or Working To Live

[cli-max]

Reading through the comments on another subject ( some leading to others )
it really got me thinking: 'We can't afford to be stay at home Mums these days"

It's because of modern technology that we can't. Although, it's ONLY because we are trying to keep up with it, and the Jone's!

I can say this because being a babyboomer, i am from both eras.

During my upbringing, when Mum was home when i came home from school, or when i was sick, or whenever i needed her, we lived on the basics.
There was no second car for Mum, ( a lot of Fathers caught a bus to work, some dad's rode a bicycle ) There was ALWAYS a home cooked meal on the table - no such thing as take-away food. It wasn't neccessarily T.bone steak, but always wholesome and delicious.
We were always outdoors to play, not sitting in front of the box, or a computer.
There was no such thing as self serve - of ANY description, no K-mart, Target, Coles, Woolies, Kentucky fried chicken, Pizza hut, Red rooster etc etc
Cakes and biscuits were warm out of Mums wood oven - and kept the kitchen warm to come home to, piping hot pea & ham soup, and porridge for breakfast were on the hotplate. A cuppa was the go, not the grog.
There was no t.v. for the better half of my childhood, no microwave, gas or electric heaters or showers ( the hot water for baths was from the copper )
no computers, no washing machines or dryers, the iron was heated on the cooktop, an icebox - til the fridge came along, no freezer, no phone - let alone mobiles ( phone box or write a letter ) No-one bought plants or had rollout lawn, No such thing as a credit card, etc etc etc

Then there was Xmas, and birthdays.
There was no plastic tree and you could smell the pine needles, decorations were made by the kids, and Xmas dinner was - todays anyday food.
It wasn't over commercialized, it was simple and fun. How many people today do we hear say 'i hate Xmas, 'just want to get it over with' Then, to be paying off the debt til the next probably.

Then there's 'but our kids have got to have what other kids have, and it's all on t.v. ads' etc etc Whoever heard of ADD kids, before the artificial colours and preservatives, chickens weren't pumped full of growth inhansments, and we didn't eat food out of a tin.

I think the point is made! But we will still live to work, and our kids will still be looked after - even if it isn't by Mum, and their kids will ................

We are all treading the same path keeping up with the Jones's and their kids thinking we are doing it so our kids have it all - what we didn't have.

'I wish i knew then - all i know now' :icon_boun

 

[Roger]

too true

Its now the fast lane for sure . when i was a little tacker mum use to tie a bone around my neck so the dog would play with me and nana told me when mr whippy rang his bell it ment he was out of icecream. thank god for mcdonalds cheap icecream and no bone in the meat

 

[cli-max]

ya funny bugger ramjet

Yeah, and ya tickle my ................................. funnybone too baby. :love76:

 

[huma]

Your post interests me cli-max coming from my experience as a child that had every thing that I wonted mind you I had to work for it from the age of 10 after school and during school holiday with no social life working under ground for my parents and they paid very well.
No matter many thing they brought for me of or gave me I’m not for sale the best thing a parent or parents can offer is spend time with them and play with them they will remember it and love you for it

 

[Oscar]

YUP!! I can remember those days too! and were'nt they great.Never mind the Jones's,I just cruise at my own pace,sometimes quick-sometimes slow.Things still manage to get done & the family(scattered everywhere) is kept happy.Easy come ,easy go,no stress!!!(well,maybe a bit now & then) :icon_boun

 

[RoadRunner]

the good olde days

Cli-max , I think your my long lost sister ?? You just described my house as a young child , No T.V. until that magic day Dad brough home the B&W pye 20inch , pine needles all over the lounge floor at christmas , Trips to Alfreds Kitchen in Guildford cos Hungry Jacks was yet to turn us all into overwait kids and Perth to london in 1965 on a 707 in no less than 7 stops , what speed and all after spending ya Dads life times saving to do it . I tell a lie , he worked for M.M.A ( remember that one ) and we paid only half ya lifes savings. they were the good old days , no matter what anyone says and to top it off produced some real fine people . wouldnt trade it for present day , see ya all .

Roadrunner :tearyeyed

 

[Mary Anne PA]

How's that song go................

yeah!!

(If I could turn back time.................)

if I knew then what I knew now....lol

 

[summer]

summer

Hi Climax,
very good point!
I think it all depend's on the way you decide to live as well,you can still live the old traditional value's as well as in with the modern!
if we can try and teach the kid's money doesn't grow on tree's and the appreciation of material thing's as well.then that's a start!
and respect it's amazing how many young people won't get of a seat to offer it to a old person!As long as children are loved,not bought then that will go a long way,and kid's have a great imagination they need to play and have more interaction with us the adult's!the other day it was raining,so we got a box and some little peice's of paper and wrote character's"witch,mermaid,clown,wizard e.t.c and acted them out all together!and it was a lot of fun and great to hear laughter!you always want your kid's to have more than you's did,but on the same token not lose sight of having fun naturally !but having that quality time with one another beat's the material side by far!Yet technology is important to for even Kindy's have computer's and the time's have changed !so I think it goes both hand in hand!Summer. :cya:

 

[cli-max]

Thanks for your thoughts on the subject

To the Roadrunner: Hi Bro :

Thanks all for the poitive input on the subject.

Hey, i'm not living in a make believe world, I know we have to move forward with technology etc etc But, i have some unreal memories:

Before TV came, we listened to Daddy n Paddy on the wireless.

I remember the first TV set we had, it was from Canberra TV rentals and was fed with 2 bob coins. One thing we could rely on, was the money running out before the end of the programme! ;D I remember Mum hiding from the TV and Radio licencing man when he came around for the money.

I remember the rag man that used to pay a few pennies for old rags ( mum used to weigh them down with floor polish to get a halfpenny or so more )

The ice truck used to come around with the big ice blocks for the icebox. The man would give us the chips of ice to suck on in grease proof paper. ( NO Mr Whippie ) Later on, an icecream ( a REAL treat ) was sixpence, ours was usually homemade.

I remember the dried up honey, vegemite, jam or fishpaste sanwiches in our lunch. A treat for playlunch was buttered arrowroot biscuits.

Before TV came into our loungerooms:
As little girls we played dollies n cots, or with our teasets ( every girl had a teaset )with hundreds and thousands bread, or played with our hula hoop. In summer we played under the sprinkler, after Dad had mowed the lawn with the push mower.

We played hopscotch or skippy, and knuclebones or the monkey bars. We made daisy chains from dandylions ( that make you wet the bed they said ?) We played twoball against the wall, or walked the dog with our yo -yo.

The boys played marbles ( doogs ) or cricket - with a apple crate as wickets, caught taddies n frogs from the swamp or played soldiers or cowboys n indians. At night they read comics, usually The Phantom. We read our mushy love comics, played fiddle sticks, or did jizsaws or did colouring in.
( We played 'rudies' as we got older :headbang: ) ha ha

We would hear our Mum's hollering your name from the front verandah when it was tea time. ( a bit like coo-ee ) It was always 'Wipe your feet on the mat, don't slam the door, wash your face and hands for tea, you're father will be home soon'

And Mum's cooking......... I still love rhubarb and custard, home made apple pie, 'real' beans and peas, broad beans, swede and spinach. The only herbs or spices were parsley, mint, salt and pepper! And it was yummy and filling.

I remember a red dress that was Mums 'town dress' She would curl her hair, put on her hat and gloves, seemed stockings and dab of Gemmey aude cologne, to go to town on the tram. It was 'The Big Day Out' of yesterday.
Twice a year we went to the pictures in the holidays. We all stood to attention when God Save The Queen came on - as we sang every morning in school.

And it goes on, and on........................ It's like talking about another planet.
and I miss those days! :icon_boun