Friday, June 30, 2017

Things I do miss...

Ever had that feeling that you were born in the wrong time period?  That you're an old soul stuck in the wrong body for the times?  I've been thinking about that lately, oh this is not a new thing, quite the opposite.  I remember thinking, as a kid, that I should have been born before.  I was brought up a certain way and because of that, I often stood out.  I guess my values were different than those of the people my age.  Maybe it came from my parents (read strict father and his crazy ass ideas), I don't really know.  I do know that as I'm getting old...er I do miss some of that.

What do I miss exactly?  Many things, like for example:


Dressing up - I was raised to dress up when came time to go somewhere like church, or to attend a funeral.  If I went out with my parents to visit a relative or even to go to a restaurant, I had to dress up.  I didn't have to wear tulle, but I had to wear something nice, and preferably not pants (I did say my dad had crazy ass ideas!).  In doing so I had to behave a certain way, I had to sit properly and it "forced" me to be more lady like, not slouching as much if you will.  I remember feeling proud of my nice clothes.  To this day, whenever we dress up to go somewhere, I still feel this feeling of pride as soon as I wear something nice.  Many fashion advisers will say it, dress the part, and it is true.  When you dress nice your whole posture changes.  We've lost that with all those "jailin" pants that is for sure!

Modesty - Maybe it is because of the new clothes styles, the "gang" style many people wear, the casual went from a nice pair of khakis to rip jeans and showing more skin than I do in a bathing suit. The sad part is, many (read, a shit load too many!) should cover up.  Please do not say that everyone is entitle to show as much or as little as one please, that we should accept all sizes, etc.  Give me a break.  Some things should remain private and unexposed, and I'm no prude, but I do have a gag reflex!

Handwritten letters - I used to have penpals back in high school, I still do and I have my postcards.  I just love to write.  The feel of pen and paper is nice.  We can express ourselves in writing often way better than if spoken (in my case anyway!), and for me the coolest thing is finding an old letter written by an ex-boyfriend or a relative long past, and remembering them through their words as if they were still talking to me.  So many souvenir in old hand written documents.


Memorizing phone numbers - to this day I still remember our phone number from the store.  I used to know so many numbers by heart, now, I can barely remember mine!  That muscle hasn't been trained in many years, since the arrival of speed dial and the Smart phones.  I don't even know my own mother's phone number!  I have it programmed in my cell, so I don't need to remember it, right? Riiight!

Saying "Please" and "Thank you" - that used to be a given.  I find it sad to see a TV commercial (about Tim Horton I think) where they say you can only say "Ice Coffee" to get one, and oh, of course, you can say "Ice Coffee Please" or "Ice Coffee Thank You".  It is a very sad reflection of our manners or rather lack of manners.

Saying "Sir" and "Ma'am" - another nice thing that has been lost.  Granted I will admit, being called ma'am by a twenty something stings a little, but then again when it does happen I appreciate the respect.  I remember being afraid of my elders, relatives, neighbors and even complete strangers, because I knew that if I didn't talk to them respectfully I would get it (it being whatever from an earful to a good whack!).  We had to show respect to our teachers, to people working in public (from waitress to nurse to office personnel), to the parents of friends, we weren't on a first name basis and did respect them (or at least acted like we did!).  I hate it when I call somewhere or meet a contractor (which is something I've been doing the past few weeks) and to be talked to as if I'm someone they know.  We have an expression (in French) that says:  "We didn't watch the pigs together", as in we're not that familiar, let's keep it clean.  It's not even about being snow, I see it more as mutual respect and in some way showing some modesty, keeping things on a neutral basis if you will.


Doing mental math - I'm not math person, far from it.  I had to learn at a young age to count, since my folks had a store and I did operate the cash register (we had one just like that!  We used the crank when there was a power failure).  I had to know how to give the change back.  You know, before the electronic cash register?  There is nothing that infuriates me more than going to a store and giving $10.25 to the clerk for a $8.15 invoice.  When they look at me with that puzzled, confused look I want to scream (no not really, I would much rather smack some sense into them!).  When I tell them to simply give me back $2.10 they are completely lost.  I don't know how many times they will hand me back my quarter and the change for the $10, so a dollar and eighty-five cents of change, grrrr. Morons who can't count, unless their cash register tells me the amount. And if their cash doesn't work, then forget about paying, they are royally screwed.



Cursive writing - actually never mind cursive, simply writing full words and sentences! Ah! Seriously!  Sometimes some younger friends will text me (we have more than twenty years difference) and in order for me to understand what they are sending me I have to read it out loud.  I just can't get on with that, I like words and like to write them.  I don't do "gr8" or "CU", so no I'm don't type fast nor do I use my thumbs, what can I say I'm vintage!

Are there any things like these old habits that you miss?


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