The 1950s are coming to mind

Our lives have changed drastically as a result of the pandemic we’ve been dealing with. I was thinking the other day that a lot of what we are doing reminds me of growing up in the 1950s:

1. Travel – I recall how important my parents thought it would be for our family to take our first big vacation when I was in the eleventh grade. We traveled by car to British Columbia, where we stayed in a family friend’s cabin on Vancouver Island. We went to Stanley Park for the day. We didn’t have a lot of money or opportunities for vacations, as you can see. Mom worked as a teacher from Monday through Friday, with the summers off. Dad had weekends off and worked from Tuesday to Saturday.

Due to the pandemic, flights are currently grounded, and we are keeping a physical distance. As a result, travel is not taking place, and we do not anticipate it to do so any time soon.

2. When I was a child, stores were shut on Sundays, Mondays, and evenings. We ordered from the Sears catalog anything we couldn’t find locally because we lived in a small town in Saskatchewan.

Now that store hours have been shortened, we are advised to only go shopping in stores once per week. Of course, ordering products is still an option, but delivery might not be as quick as it once was.

3. Personal versus professional: People are taking care of their own hair, nails, baking bread, and repairs that they might otherwise hire someone to do. It’s interesting to note that gas prices have dropped significantly (which isn’t very helpful when we’re spending time alone at home), whereas elastic is in short supply and the grocery store baking aisles are empty. Nearly no one is in the hospitals or doctor’s offices.

We are now living in the pre-pandemic era, when we baked our own bread, made our own masks for protection, and only sought medical attention when it was absolutely necessary. It definitely reminds me of the 1950s!

4. Activities include playing board games, taking walks, or just hanging out in the backyard while families prepare and eat meals together. Additionally, they have more time and chances to check in with loved ones to see how they are doing.

I can recall doing each of these things when I was younger.

Oh, please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not interested in going back to the 1950s. Numerous improvements that we have made over the years are good. Even so, it’s nice to get back some of the things that were lost when businesses and technology adopted a 24-hour cycle that robbed us of our time and kept us from doing things we are now enjoying again.