It Feels Like the 1950s

The pandemic that we have been experiencing has caused so many changes in our lives. I was thinking the other day that a lot of what we are doing reminds me of growing up in the 1950s:

1. Travel - I remember when, in grade eleven, my parents decided that it would be important for our family to go on our first major trip. We drove to British Columbia where we stayed with a family friend in his cabin on Vancouver Island. We spent a day at Stanley Park. You see, we didn't have a lot of money or opportunities to take vacations. As a teacher, mom worked Monday to Friday and had the summers off. Dad worked Tuesday to Saturday and had time off in the winters.

Now, because of the pandemic, flights are grounded, and we are physically distancing so travel is not happening and we are not expecting any in the near future.

2. Shopping - Stores were closed on Sundays, Mondays and evenings when I was a child. We lived in a small Saskatchewan town so what we couldn't get locally we would order from the Sears catalogue.

Now, store hours are reduced, and we are urged to only shop in stores once a week. Of course, we still have the option of ordering goods, but delivery might not be as rapid as in the past.

3. Personal versus professional - People are doing their own hair and nails, baking bread and doing repairs that they might otherwise pay someone else to do. It is interesting to see that the price of gas has dropped significantly (not very helpful when we are isolating at home), while the baking aisles in grocery stores are empty and elastic is a scarce commodity. Doctor's offices and hospitals are almost empty.

The pandemic has taken us back to days of making our own bread, sewing protective masks and only seeking medical care if absolutely necessary. Sounds a lot like 1950s to me!

4. Activities - Families are cooking and eating together, playing board games, going for walks or staying in the back yard. They also have more time and opportunities for contacting loved ones to see how they are doing.

I remember doing all of these things as a child.

Oh, please don't get me wrong. I don't want to go back to the 1950s. I like many of the advances we have made over the decades. It is nice, though to recapture some of the things that were lost when stores and technology began a 24/7 schedule that robbed our time and prevented us from doing things we are now enjoying again.