My most fantastic oldest daughter will graduate in
less than a month! Graduate! As my kids reach certain ages, I constantly
reevaluate just how young that age really is. (Silly me, looking at my toddlers
and thinking, well if I can get them to 18, then I won’t worry anymore. Lies!! The worry quantity is fairly
equal. The worry cause is different.)
I do remember the first checking account I opened.
My dad had to cosign for it. This is when the banks just started to introduce
mysterious products like ATM’s and PIN’s and debit cards and overdraft
protection. Exciting stuff!
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I also remember, when I was around 13 years old, we
would take the bus to down town to go shopping.
My mom would let me use her Visa and wrote an accompanying note giving
me permission to use the card. That was
back in the day when they had the little impression machine that would slide
over the card. (Now the girls order stuff
from my account on Amazon.)
I came from the last of the era requiring girls
taking Home Ec and boys taking Shop.
Being the big rebel I was, I refused to take Home Ec my senior year of
school. (Way to take a stand!) And, as you can tell, I had no benefit from my
academic Home Ec experience. (Can’t sew, can’t cook, won’t clean.)
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However, I do remember one lesson when my teacher
told us not bend over from the waste if you were wearing a skirt. Bend from the
knees and then you won’t flash your panties. (A lesson that should have been
passed on to Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.)
An
excerpt of a 1950's vintage home economics textbook:
Have dinner ready: Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal--on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.
Prepare
yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives.
Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has
just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay
and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.
Prepare
the children: Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if
they are small) comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes. They
are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.
Minimize
all noise: At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, dryer,
dishwasher or vacuum. Try
to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him: Greet him with a
warm smile and be glad to see
him.
Listen
to him: You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival
is not the time. Let him talk first.
Make
the evening his: Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to
other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain
and pressure, his need to be home and relax.
What I should have
taken was auto shop. That would have been a valuable skill, if, for no other
reason, than repair shops tend to formulate amount of work and cost by the
gender of the driver. Guys are automatically assumed to have some rudimentary
familiarity with how a vehicle works. Women are automatically assumed to have
none. (Dude, don’t even try to tell me I need new a timing belt correlation
clock or an extra-large engine block stretcher.)
The kid did take a
year of auto shop and she replaced my windshield wipers. I know! Impressive
right?
“School taught you to
follow a plan. But in life, and at work, no plan survives first contact with
reality. The ability to adapt (and a sense of humor) will take you farther than
any plan.” (Well that and access to your mom’s Amazon account.)
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