At WMF, we usually eat lunch around a small table and talk. Sometimes the conversation veers towards growing up and our cultural similarities. Among the topics covered and others I was pondering:
1) How much T.V. allowed?
2) What particular T.V. programs allowed or not allowed?
3) What were some traditional family dinners?
4) How healthy did your families eat?
5) Tupperware, Longaberger baskets, Shaklee?
6) Seating arrangements around the table.
7) Birth order and subsequent eroding strictness of parents. (Still being talked about at every turn by the oldest children and this being such an "overdone" conversation for parents and the youngest children.)
8) Natural childbirth? To talk about and explore.
9) Did everyone read Little House on the Prairie series and C.S. Lewis' Narnia series?
10) Fashion statements....clothes, hair styles, etc.
I found it interesting that a lot of the meals prepared in the 70's and 80's don't seem to be popular now. As if each decade says goodbye to some foods and hello to others. Tuna casserole seemed very popular, oatmeal for dinner, Tang at church, pudding, Hawaiian bread, little pizzas on English muffins, beef stroganoff, German potato salad, Mrs. Smith's apple pie (frozen), etc.
Also, waves of natural eating seemed to hit all of us at the same time: carob as a substitute for chocolate, fruit leather, rice cakes, natural peanut butter, lentils, homemade chicken soup.
Answers to above questions:
1) T.V. only allowed Thursday and Friday evenings and on the weekend. Thursday for Waltons and Little House, Friday for Dukes of Hazzard. Sat. morning cartoons.
2) Refer to Chris' blog for his not-allowed shows. Ours included many of those: No Smurfs, He-Man, A-Team, etc.
3) Refer to paragraph above: especially tuna casserole.
4) We ate pretty healthy. Wheat bread, healthy peanut butter, usually no desserts. Made to eat our vegetables, etc. Thanks to Mom and Dad. I appreciate it now.
5) Tupperware and Shaklee. I still miss those Tupperware orange peelers. Shaklee pills, Basic H, Basic G, and occasionally a chocolate shake mix. Again, they were ahead of their time.
6) Our seating arrangements were pretty fluid as I remember. Dinner was great though. ... All together around the table. Holding hands as we prayed. I also remember dinners getting loud. My unconscious response to too much noise?....whistling. Just what everyone needed...more noise.
7) I'm third oldest, so I have my gripes like lots of older kids. But I've mostly said my peace.
8) I know a little about midwifery, underwater delivery, jumping jacks, etc.
9) I read Narnia; my sisters read Little House.
10) Yikes. Thankfully my mom and sister Sharon said no to the mullet perm for me in junior high. I did the high tops, ankle jean wrap, spiked hair like everyone else. No zipper jackets, painters hats, or other extremes for me though.
2 comments:
funny...unconscious response to the noise was little brent whistling. that's hilarious. way to take notes on the natural childbirth! gah!
Hey Brent! Great post. I'm having a hard time picturing you with a permed mullet! =D
Here are my answers:
1) I watched WAY too much TV when I was younger. Also, my Dad was constantly renting movies, so I spent a lot of hours in front of the tube.
2) We watched "Dukes of Hazzard" every Friday night, and were also allowed to watch Saturday morning cartoons, as well as weekly children's programs (Electric Company, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, etc.) We weren't allowed to watch HBO.
3) Fried chicken, roast, vegetable beef soup, and Chinese dishes (of course).
4) Not very. My grandmother cooked with lard!
5) Tupperware...the containers with the 70's orange & green colors.
6) We each had a side of the table to sit on. My parents sat opposite each other, and my sister & I did the same.
7) My sister & I are only 14.5 months apart. I was the oldest. There was no difference on how we were disciplined.
8) It was never discussed when I was little. I can say that I'm all for the drugs, as I had my first naturally & my second with drugs.
9) My Dad was the only reader in the house. He read a lot of mystery, thrillers, and westerns.
10) My Mom was & is a beautician, so we always had the latest trendy haircut. As far as clothes go, I had the bell bottom jeans & T-shirts with those iron-ons.
Post a Comment