Background
I'm sharing stories with my granddaughters, now ages three and five as keepsake collection.
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Dear Charlotte and Eleanor,
Life was different from yours during my childhood. I'll list a few and will expand upon these in future letters:
* We played outside with our friends.
* Dinner was eaten as a family, with no take-out. Dinner was homemade.
* We didn't lock our doors.
* People dressed up when they went somewhere.
* Telephones were attached to the wall.
* To make a call away from home you used a phone booth and inserted money.
* To write a research paper you used encyclopedias or the library and a typewriter or did it by hand.
* We washed dishes by hand. Dishwashers weren't invented.
I'll spend more time on televisions. The first TV I watched was black and white. My parents didn't own a color one until 1964. I remember the thrill of actually watching a color TV show. I grew up with three channels, cable wasn't invented. TV's had antennas and to get good reception, we'd physically rotate the antenna. To change channels or turn off or on the TV you walked over and did it manually. When I was old enough to babysit, I always wished the parents would come home before the TV stations went off the air around midnight.
The lesson I learned is change happens; one can fight it or accept it, but you can always learn from it.
Author Notes
Thank you google images for this photo of a family sitting around watching a black and white TV. This could actually be the family I grew up in.
I've read this all week, but as I read Tuesday, I rewrote it. I am planning to put this letter back until one is 17 and the other is 15. I went ahead and posted it. I wanted to do into much more detail but need to keep these letters short because of space. I am attempting to stick to the writing prompt and the suggested number of words. I am going to add additional letters to go into more details with some of changes.
I was excited when I received this gift from my son and his wife, but as I thought more about it, it scared me. What could I possibly have had to say that my granddaughters would want to read as teenagers or in their early twenties. As of right now, I only have ideas for the next two letter. I will try to post weekly, on Thursdays but can't promise.
As with any of my writing, I did additional editing as I posted. Every time I read my writing; I make changes. I am never satisfied. Thank you for your help and idea.
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