One thing I notice about today, few families keep the same home longer than 10-15 years, unlike when I was growing up where original family homes were still in the same families hands after four and five decades, and many of the homes I remember as a child were ever so tiny, yet people made-do. Bunk-beds were the norm in the 60's and 70's, so having a house-full of kids presented few problems, as more than one child often shared the same room. I remember sharing my room with baby siblings.mbrudnic wrote:My Mom would say that she and my Dad were "poor" when they were first married. I say they could always pay the rent, put plenty of food on the table, etc They were careful with their money and always put aside savings. Today they are in their early 70's, good health and take a large (expensive) trip, usually overseas every other year.
My Dad was the ultimate DIY-er. He worked a summer or two as a mechanic, he did all kinds of house maintenance work. My Mom worked as a nurse. It seemed as if most of my classmates had stay-at-home Mom's in the 70's & early 80's. Mom was not a clothes horse, but we had good shoes, attended parochial schools.
We had a boat and when I was in 5th grade my grandparents bought a cottage on a small lake in Michigan. Most of our vacations were at the lake. We went to the beach in NC a few times. I was 17 when the family went to Disney world.
Anyways, I learned to cook at home, be careful with how I spend my money. Not taking extravagant vacations every year. Try to do thing you can on your own and maintain what you have to make it last longer.
You also touch on something that resonates with me to clearly, and that is, keeping the fun in the family. What I mean by that is, weekend get-togethers and gatherings were more often than not, organized at a single family home (someone in the family), where food and drink was a combined family effort, and what fun those parties were.
A trip to the beach for a swim, a picnic out on the front lawn sitting on a blanket with a few homemade sandwiches, a jug of juice, and a few treats, and us kids were in heaven.
I also remember 99% of all moms I knew from my childhood days were stay-at-home moms, too, and kids and family units were better off for it, too, IMO.