The Way We Were

In my day....

1. We took bologna with mayo and tuna salad sandwiches to school and they sat in our lockers for hours before lunch. With NO ice pack!!

2. My brothers took turns trying to lie on that ledge between the rear seat and the rear window of our big boaty Caprice Classic.

3. I don't remember my parents helping me with any school projects.

4. We used suntan lotion, not sunscreen.

5. My mother made dinner EVERY night. Going out to a restaurant was a rare treat.

6. We walked to school and came home for lunch in elementary school.

7. My parents had only one car until I was in high school.

8. I made $1 per hour at the peak of my babysitting career.

9. Kids played with their friends after school. Nobody really had a schedule. As long as you got your homework done things were good.

10. "Time out" was a sporting term, not a parenting technique.

11. Phones didn't go in your purse. Cash didn't come out of a metal machine.

12. My dad was the lawn service. My brothers were the driveway-shovelers.

I'm sure there are many more, but as you know they say the memory is the second thing to go....
How else were things different in your day?

Forecast: Hot and Sunny

It has been very hot here for the last couple of days. 90 plus degrees hot. I never believed that heat and humidity stuff before but it is really true. It's not so much the heat as it is the humidity. 95 and humid in Chicago is just nasty. Steamy, sticky, sweaty, sucky. 95 and not humid in LA is....just plain hot. Verrrry hot. I know I feel much more at home here than I did a year ago but not completely because I still find myself thinking about "them" and how "they" do things here. I guess when I start thinking "we" instead of "they" the transformation will be complete. Anyway, it is very hot here. And here's what I've seen people wearing: Sweatshirts, long-sleeved shirts, jeans, and......Uggs. Yes. Uggs. Uggs and shorts on a 95 degree day. I had to restrain myself from going up to an Ugg-clad girl and asking her what her thought process was as she was getting dressed. I mean--what could it possibly be? "I'll wear my jean cut-offs and my flip-flops--no--too beachy. Maybe my wedge sandals---no---too dressy. I know, I'll wear my Uggs!!! They'll be perfect." I've also seen many many people carrying open umbrellas to shield them from the sun. I guess applying sunscreen is too much trouble. Another thing I've noticed that is different here than in Chicago is that people go to the movies on a beautiful day here. That doesn't happen in Chicago. I guess it is because every day is beautiful here. I am trying to think of things people do in Chicago that would seem strange to a newcomer but I can't think of any. Maybe that when there is a threat of a snowstorm people head for the grocery store to stock up as if they might be trapped in their houses for days. Can you think of anything a newcomer to your area might find strange?