Money has been tight since I resigned from my job to stay home with my kids. This has made us a one-income family, a situation that the majority of families found themselves in about 70 years ago. I started thinking today...wouldn't it be neat to live life as they did in the 1940's? I mean seriously, what better time in modern history could there be? The depression is over, women can vote, cars are huge and awesome, kids wear trousers and dresses, by 1944 WWII is over, there's nothing like a good war to boost an economy.
So those facts are floating around in my mind today. I posted something about this as my facebook status. Of course, my mom and Petunia get into age-bashing each other and someone brought up cow patties...why they insist on using my page as a battlefield I don't know, but I digress.
Since I was a girl of 10, maybe 12, I've thought I was born in the wrong era. I love the music of the 40s, the fashions, the wholesome way of life. I look at pictures of my grandparents and can picture myself walking around in the background living there, then.
I get lost in movies set in this time period like White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Story, It Happened One Night, An Affair to Remember, Casablanca, Topper, Topper Returns, and on and on and on.
To get back to the main reason of this entry, today I was thinking of ways we could save money...give up some of our luxuries like our BlackBerrys. (Right now we are spending roughly $170/month for cell phones. And to be honest, the only thing I really do on mine is facebook. I rarely make or recieve calls anymore. It's all texting, emailing, message posts, instant messaging online. Whatever happened to writing someone a letter? I would love to get mail other than Christmas cards and bills.)
Then my mind wandered...what did They do back then for entertainment? How did a Stay at Home Moms keep her kids busy while she kept the house going? Surely there was no Sesame Street On Demand at her beckon call, no DVDs to pop in. What did kids do? Played outside. Used their imaginations. Read books. Can you imagine?
What did families do during dinner? They had conversations…at the dinner table…with each other…face to face, not facebook to facebook.
I want to conduct an experiment of sorts. For one year, I want to rid my home of the luxuries They did not have in the 1940s. No digital cable or cell phone or internet or computer or microwave or answering machine or call waiting or caller ID or pizza delivery or Chinese takeout or air conditioning or blow dryers or whitening toothpaste. I would have to keep some modern amenities so we can keep up with modern life outside our doors, like internet and a computer so my husband can continue to do his work and make a living, and I will surely keep my washer and dryer…I mean come on, I have twin 17-month-olds and a 4 year old.
These are details that can be hashed out later. I want to be able to say Merry Christmas without someone jumping down my throat that someone within earshot might be Buddhist or Jewish. I want to be able to let my kids play outside without the fear that I will never see them again. I want my daughters to become teenagers who don’t feel the need to leave nothing to the imagination when they get dressed.
I’m still in the brainstorming stage and will have to convince my husband to agree to this.
If you have any ideas, input, advice, comments to add, please do. Any and all are welcome!
…in my head, this experiment is already a mini reality show on TLC.
8 comments:
Doonie: This is amazing. Once again, if you're famous before I am, I'm telling.
Yes, Folks SHE is the cute one. I'm just her sister. Wait. NO! I mean...MESSAGE SENT.
hmmm....TWO kids who can write! Who knew?
Have I mentioned how proud I am??
Grandma Lucy is looking down and beaming! She lived what you described! (and loved it) You come by these feelings honestly. I love you!
By 1940 approximately 15 million households had washing machines. The first patent for a washing and wringing machine was issued in England in 1691. In 1939 GE offered the HM275JP - a TV with a 7.5 x 10 inch screen for $795. So, you can keep your washing machine and your TV. Your Blackberries, internet and cable stations have to go. Although in 1943 construction of the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC)began. ENIAC was considered the first electronic computer and was used to calculate ballistic firing tables during World War II. So you can keep your computer. However, the drawback seems to be that the ENIAC cost almost $500000, and required six full-time technicians to keep it running.
Obviously, I did not experience any of these things first-hand and have to look all this stuff up, since I am not as old as your mother.
love,
Aunty Peetoonya
no air conditioner? really? REALLY!?
i love the 40's. i adoooore that time period.. the dress, the way of life.. the music.
i think it's a brilliant idea. but... no air conditioning??? lol
The concept of air conditioning is known to have been applied in Ancient Rome, where aqueduct water was circulated through the walls of certain houses to cool them. Similar techniques in medieval Persia involved the use of cisterns and wind towers to cool buildings during the hot season. Modern air conditioning emerged from advances in chemistry during the 19th century, and the first large-scale electrical air conditioning was invented and used in 1902 by Willis Haviland Carrier. So, you can have air conditioning. Just get a cistern full of cold water and use a wind tower with several Nubian slaves to operate the giant fans.
I'm with you (I always whished I lived in the 50's myself). Be selective with your modern conveniences. Can't say I'd give up my microwave but we gave up cable when J was born and have basic cell phones. Hmm... wonder what else I could cross off my list. We should all check back a year from now and see what changes worked. :)
We all need to get back to the days when kids had no choice but to learn to use their imaginations.
Do you remember the night when you and I first listened to the "CBS Radio Mystery Theater" on WBEN?
I think we were out in the car on some sort of shopping mission for Mom. I remember your being absolutely fascinated by the scenery and images that you could develop all by yourself.
I may even have remarked, on occasion, how disappointed I was when I first watched Jack Benny on TV.
I like the concept.
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