Nostalgia has got to be a natural feeling for older people. It makes sense that this would be so. But, this combined with a feeling that things are moving very fast and maybe it is not all good, has me irritated. I get irritated with myself for not being able to see the future. Then I get anxious about being a troglodyte. I really don't like that idea of myself.
A lemonade stand is what got me going. My daughter and grand kid are working to set up a lemonade stand. They have made a beautiful sign and are strategically planning the whole endeavor. It is a nice healthy project, I think. Then the nostalgia kicks in. Then I start having these feelings about the good old days when life was more simple and this takes me on a wild trajectory that ultimately robs me of the fun in today. I have to stop this.
The first time that my brother and I made a lemonade stand was when some water lines were being put in by our country home. Normally we wouldn't have had anyone to sell to. We told Mom about our plan. She told us that whatever mess we made, we would have to clean up. Duh. She always said that. We knew that. We then started this huge project that began with finding an old board. We painted it with house paint (oil based in those days) and that involved opening the can, stirring forever, washing the brushes with turpentine, all that. Then, days later when the sign was dry, we found rocks and boards to make a table and we made ice and put the ice in a big bowl and then we had to shine glasses and find some fabric for a table cloth. We counted our savings and walked to the store to buy lemons and sugar. Getting the final approval from Mom and a final lecture from Dad about putting the lids back on paint cans correctly, we opened our business.
We knew exactly how much we had spent on our supplies. We knew exactly how much money we made. We were extremely gratified with our social interactions. It was very nice. When our customers moved on to the next block, we hung the sign in the garage with other summer memories.
Now, suburban kids would be total freaks if they approached the lemonade stand as we did. Today, they get in the SUV with Mom or the nanny and buy paper cups and a bag of ice and a poster board and lemonade and that is that.
So, why would I get in a dither about this? This is nice and sweet and fun. That is the whole point. My way was no better, just different. We wanted a lot of what kids have today. We had no idea that anything like a cell phone would ever be invented, in fact, at age seven, I had probably never talked on the phone. I certainly hadn't seen TV but we made home made walkie talkies with string and tin cans. We made stilts from those tall juice cans. Today's children will invent stuff I never dreamed of using their imaginations is ways I can't even fathom.
My task is to remember a more simple time and throw away my rose colored glasses. When I was a kid people were working very hard to forget the horrors of the Second World War and redefine normal. Now we have other challenges and we will need everything the kids can muster to meet tomorrow. I suppose that they will look back on the simple times when all you had to do was to get in the SUV and drive to a store to create the fun you wanted.
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