Looking Back - 1943

“Stop saving clothes and shoes for special occasions. Wear them whenever you can. Being alive is a special occasion.”

I saw these words recently, and it reminded me of days gone by. My generation grew up during the after-effects of “The Great Depression” (1929-1939), and WWII.

When I was growing up we did not waste anything. We did not randomly throw things out—we might not get another one. I have a friend who had the same growing up experience although she is 10 years younger. I jokingly call it, “Post Depression Syndrome.”

I remember that I got a new pair of shoes at the beginning of school, and was still wearing them until warm weather in the spring. I got a special Easter dress and shoes in the spring, although my grandmother sewed most of my clothes.

During the post war era people did not have a lot, but our world was a happy place. We were content with what we had. We didn’t have WalMart or Amazon,but looked forward to the new Sears & Roebuck catalog each season.

We grew gardens, and my mother and grandmother spent many days and hours in a hot kitchen processing and canning the food. There was no central air conditioning during my growing up years. We did not miss what we did not have.

As our country recovered from WWII, our lives became easier. The economy soared, and it became commonplace to become a “2-car” family with a little money in the bank. My family built a new home, and my dad surprised me with a new bike. With a better life, we began to collect more stuff.

There was no television in our area until the early 50’s—2 channels. Neighbors and relatives would gather at our house in the evenings to watch TV. It was an exciting time in our lives. Of course we still went to the movies on Saturday afternoon.

My husband and I often talked about the fact that our generation has lived in the best of times in all of history. Today in our modern world everything is so easily accessible and we collect too many things. I think my generation still has trouble “letting go” of all the collection of stuff— saving it because someone may need it.

I saw these words on FB recently: The 3 stages of life: Wanting stuff. Accumulating stuff. Getting rid of stuff—and to my generation I say good luck with that!