J.T the three year old showed up with his grandmother, and of course Watts looked at this boy as if he were a cat, and went off to play by himself... his social skills towards other children is weird... yet the hubster stated that if Watts made best friends with every kid he met, that would make him weird. I guess....
So I talked to the grandmother who was awesome. I immediately liked her. She told me that she had four kids... all within three years of each other. I immediately respected this lady and was like, "how in hell did you do it?" I wanted to know her secret to still being alive, and looking so great. She laughed and was like, "it was different back then, much easier to raise children" she had her first son in 1967. She told me the pressures today are much greater, and for some reason the stress of raising children is way harder then it was back then.
This really got me to thinking about why that might be... my first answer was.... cars, transportation...these stupid car seats are nightmares. They take up the whole back seat, they come with a harness that is capable of strapping a ferrett in, without it being able to move an inch.... AND, they take up so much space that you have to drive with your seat in the front so close to the dashboard that your knees touch the steering wheel. Taking a road trip equals big time nightmare.
Nothing like the sound of a frustrated, hungry, squirmy baby and toddler in the backseat screaming bloody murder.... because they want to move an inch, or sleep laying down... back in the day my mom would throw the kids in the back on a makeshift mattress and off she went for an 8 hour easy drive... stress free with happy slumbering children sleeping in the back. Sounds like a dream.
The grandma at the park spoke fondly of how she had a VW Bug and she would drive with her baby in the front seat on her lap. Can you imagine?
I wish I could just open the door throw the brats in the back seat and take off to do some grocery shopping. Instead its an ordeal.... and a stress, and by the time I sit in the drivers seat I am a cranky bitch of a mess that wants to die.
I liked this lady.... for some reason just her saying that raising kids today ain't easy made me feel like I wasn't totally insane for hating my life. Kids used to play outside on the street till it got dark.... now they are inside in airconditioning playing with my phone for hours, watching TV.... they WONT LEAVE!, and if they did... they would be kidnapped, or hit by a reckless driver on their phone, or wouldn't find another kid to play with....
My ex-boss told a story once that she was left in the car by her mother... her mom went into a store for a brief second and a strange man hopped in the car and moved it with Susan in the backseat. Susan was scared shitless.... the man got out, and told her that he needed to move the car because her mom parked in the way of his car. Can you imagine? First off.... I could never leave my kids in the car.... it would be child abuse. Next, I would never leave the keys in my car, it would automatically lock itself with the kids in the car... (happened, true story) or someone would steal my car.... AND nobody in their right mind would ever just hop into a car with some kids and move the car.... instead they would sit there and beep or aggressively start screaming...
Its a much different time...
My mom and dad signed my brothers up to go on a camping trip with a man named "Grandma Joe" This man.... would take several boys in the neighborhood camping. Turns out years later the guy was ousted for being a child molester. Thankfully my brothers stank too much to be molested, so they said. When I heard this, I thought my parents were retarded. They assured me that the whole neighborhood did it... it was fine, the man was nice and had a great references from the other parents. THE MAN WAS NICE? A man could never take several children on a camping trip now a days... it would be creepy. Especially if his name was grandma Joe.
It's a MUCH DIFFERENT TIME....
Anyway, life sucks now. That lady got me thinking is all... I really enjoy stories of the 50's-80's.... Something happened to America... people became untrustworthy, paranoid, and pussies.... so many safety regulations, so many creepy people that can't be trusted.... people are nuts.
I think TV, Internet, has helped the world realize what humans are capable of. It was better when we were in the dark. Communication was slower, and people were not in the know. Now the fun and freedom is gone, and it makes it very hard for our kids to be kids, or for us adults to enjoy them. Too many rules and guidelines have ruined parenting. I mean look at the AIDS virus... people used to have sex... with many people unprotected...and not think twice... even sex has been ruined. Life sucks.
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