How many signs of the good ol' days can we count here? This is me and my Pap at his home in Jefferson County, Ohio around 1981.
- Absence of helicopter parenting (not just from the grandfather in the picture, but also from the mother standing by who's taking the picture).
- Grandparents being a part of their grandkids' growth, teaching them about important things, eventually imparting valuable skills (although I had to wait until I was about 9 before he would teach me how to fire that gun).
- People in their late '60s being retired and freed up to play these grandparental roles, rather than still trapped in the workforce in order to strive-and-spend until death.
- Children dressed in distinctly children's clothing, not as mini-teenagers.
- Encouraging kids to walk on their own as soon as possible, not carting them around in strollers well into elementary school.
- Unpretentious, home-y kitchen.
Good stuff. Good memories. And not just in Appalachia.
ReplyDeleteSeemingly all gone with the wind.