What was so great about the good old days? | Best Assisted Living in Wichita

​What Was So Great About the Good Old Days?
 
Not all of the past was golden, that's for sure. Poverty, wars, racial injustice, epidemics: there are many things that were not better in the so-called Good Old Days. But the old-time pleasures are still great to look back on and recall. Sharing memories of good times past with others can make new memories and pass along important values.
 

• TV was great

There have always been plenty of failures on television, but who can forget such gems as "I Love Lucy" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show," as well as "Good Times" and "Mission: Impossible"? In half an hour, a family could learn to trust each other, a crabby neighbor could be softened or an important mission could be accomplished with minimal bloodshed. Language in almost every show was safe for young and old to hear and repeat.
 

• Cars were great

Get a group of citizens over 65 together and sooner or later, the topic will turn to the cars they loved or hated. Who doesn't have a story about a "lemon" or the car they learned to drive in or a beauty that they restored by hand? Car safety and function may be improving all the time, but nothing can be better than those beautiful old designs.
 

• People we loved were still around

A great way to honor those who have passed before is to talk about them. One philosophy is that people never die as long as they are remembered. Sure, Uncle Fred might have seemed grumpy or Grandmother might have had many health problems, but sharing their stories is a great way to keep them alive.
 

• Everything felt better

Of course it didn't, but as aging and mobility issues become more prominent in lives of elders, the past starts to feel like a time of no pain or worries. Roller-skating is recalled without the hurt of the skinned knees. A child is a joy, never mind about child-bearing. Even losses and heartaches soften over time, and reflection can lead to a new, peaceful view of past times.
 
But while remembering things from the past that were loved and fun, it can be important to look around at the present, appreciating advances in medicine and convenience, enjoying technology and advancing ideas, and valuing what has been made much better, so that each day can be one of the "Good New Days."
 
Prairie Homestead
yvonne@prairiehomestead.org
prairiehomestead.org
1605 W. May Street
Wichita KS 67213
(316) 263-8264