And here's where the insomnia comes in... why must I remind? Do I need to nag in order to get things done around the house? When was the last time I had to be reminded to do something? Is this common in every household? And last but definitely not least, How do I motivate without being or feeling like a nag?
The more I thought about these questions the more I wondered if this is a generational thing, did our grandparents or even great grandparents have these same issues? I know I didn't live the era but when I think about the greatest generation, the silent generation and maybe even early baby boomers I can't help but picture hard working men with a silent but strong love for their family. I picture men who worked hard five days a week and then spent their nights and weekends working around the house and spending time with their families. Is this a delusion? Have books, television and movies romanticized the family dynamics of this time period? Or have modern technologies made us lazier?
For now I guess I'll just have to wonder if I'll ever have answers to my questions or a decretive mirror for my wall.
Trying to remember back through grandparents and great-grandparents; only had one Great Grandma & pa set, but both were very old and I was very young the only time I spent an overnight there. She did everything in the house, he did everything outside. The Great-grandma I knew best had become a widow in her early 40s, so had to do it all herself, along with help from relatives when needed (son lived in S.F., daughter in L.A.). With the grandparents, one set were just like TV, but I think a lot of reminding went on, very quietly, behind the scenes, and Grandma did almost everything around the home since she only "worked" part-time. All the shopping, & all the errands. But he took apart the cars (and didn't get Grandma's favorite back together), took care of the rest of the family's cars, went hunting every fall, camping every summer with at least one of us grandkids in tow. But the holes were there too, just well covered up as no one talked about "real" life. I think we say more now, and due to the hectic pace of life, (they didn't get their first TV until around 1970, so distractions were minimal, shirts and sheets were sent out, butcher and produce guys always set aside the best seasonal cuts, vegetables and fruits - in the small grocery store which only took a few minutes to run all the isles, and she had a housecleaner once a week during the prime years) and stresses, we need our support systems. Come to think of it, Grandma had a group of close girlfriends and had at least a monthly luncheon & bridge game; bet a lot of discussions happened then. Life has changed, but I also know what they all lived without, but I bet the reminding part hasn't changed one bit.
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