A conversation with my mother........

I had an interesting conversation with my mum the other day.

I had popped into her place with the boys for a cuppa on my way back from town.

As we were sitting and chatting I casually said to her "I don't know how you kept the house so tidy when we were growing up, nothing was ever out of place".

Now I'm one of six, mum had three then an eight year gap then me, my brother and baby sister.  We were a busy household with lots of after school activities going on.  We were noisy.  We had pets and always had friends popping in and out.  Dad worked long hours during the week and played in his band in the weekends.  I never saw him do any housework or cooking.  Mum did everything.

She looked at me with one eyebrow raised and said "Do you really want to know?"

"Of course!" said moi.

Here is the list of what she said, in no particular order:

• When she was a young mum, women spent alot of time at home.  The street was full of stay at home mums.  They said hello to each other over the fence while hanging out the washing - early in the morning.  Sometimes they would pop over for a cuppa - there were no such things as "coffee groups".
• Children played in the garden or in the street.  They were not taken to daytime activities, like swimming, music and movement unless they had kindy or school.
• We were at home to do household chores, cooking, baking, mending etc - we had the time to do it as we had no other place to be.  These types of things were priority.
• Shopping was done in town once a week.
• School runs were done on foot mainly.  You lived and went to the local school.  NO sitting in long traffic queues to get to school in the morning or afternoon.  After a time we walked to and from school with neighbouring kids.........it was safe.
• We did'nt have computers.  No time wasted sitting on "that Facebook thing".
• Children did'nt have that many toys.  Mum can't get over the amount of toys that children have today - I did not point out however that she buys a good deal of them now though!

I asked her if she ever felt lonely.  She said no, she was too busy.  She always chatted to other mums in the street and on the school runs.  "And you never had Girls nights out".

We chatted for ages on the subject.  Pros and Cons for today's stay at home AND working mums.

 

Tell me lovely readers - Do we have it better these days?  Are things easier or harder?

Would you want to go back?

 

I'm Thirty Five now so we are talking a few decades back here.  I don't think I could do what my mum did. Day in day out.  No help from the man of the house.  Mr H does loads around the here.  He takes the kids out in the weekend to give me a break and will often come home from work and cook dinner if things are a bit "mad" around here.  And he irons better than I do too!

Something to think about....................I can't wait for our next catch up and cuppa.  What should I ask her next?!