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*** This vintage Pendleton jacket is from the 1970s. It reminds me of the CPO shirt jackets we wore in those days. Some stylists say a woman should never wear a look she’s already worn once in her life, but that rule is made to be broken. ***

 

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After Michelle’s eye-rolling scene with John Boehner, I dreamed that he asked to borrow my leopard-print pencil skirt. There must be something in the water this week because even my Mom is having crazy dreams.

Mom dreamed she was negotiating an employment deal for my brothers and Dad—which is truly hilarious considering: a) the number of times the men in my family have shared the same employer b) the number of times my mother has moved our family with almost no say-so about when, how and what kind of compensation went with my dad’s latest job and c) my dad has been retired now for almost 20 years, so their moving days are well behind them.

“You don’t have to wonder about whether these guys can do the job,” was Mom’s pitch to the prospective employer. “But we’re not taking these jobs unless you’re planning to make us rich and you can house my whole family in a compound together.” I figure this offers some insight about what a lot of Moms really want: for all their chicks to be safe, secure and well within their sight.

Since we talk about vintage things here, can I just mention how different families are today from the way Baby Boomers grew up?

In no particular order and without any particular judgment of which is better, here’s a short list of noticeable differences in parenting then and now.

Then: If you got in trouble at school, you were in even deeper trouble at home. Children were presumed guilty until proven innocent.

Now: Teachers must be prepared to explain every decision concerning every child. Teachers are assumed guilty until proven innocent.

Then: Children were to be seen and not heard. If your children misbehaved in a place where adults were enjoying themselves, parents were expected to remove them for the comfort of others. This caused many parents to stay home, leave early or get sitters.

Now: Children are everywhere. Parents hope other adults will understand that children occasionally get restless, misbehave or act as children do. Adults who show impatience are often considered intolerant people who have either a) forgotten what it is like to be a parent or b) never knew what it was like to begin with.

Then: Children played outside and entertained themselves. During the summer months, mothers might feed their children breakfast and send them outside to play until lunchtime. Ditto after lunch, until dinner.

Now: The average child spends almost 50 hours a week interacting with some form of indoor media. For their safety, they can’t play outside unless they are carefully supervised.

I’m definitely a product of my generation in every way—which means I’ve got my own opinion about these things. But what I’d really like to know is this: what’s the best parenting trend you’ve seen in loving families who are conscientiously training their children for life today?

P.S. Check out 40+ style blogger Patti at Not Dead Yet Style, where I climbed on board her Visible Mondays.

Life is short. Wear the good stuff.