Cow Pasture Chronicles : Excuse Me?

Photo courtesy of hubpages.com

The Daily Post Prompt: Modern Families – If one of your late ancestors were to come back from the dead and join you for dinner, what things about your family would this person find the most shocking?

My family isn’t much different than any other family. It’s blended; kids have their heads stuck in technology rather than communicating, expect more than we did, and the grandkids, are spoiled rotten (hard not to). I, like most parents, today, have been too lenient.

I come from a long line of hard working, strong, and outspoken women. They were practical, knew how to pinch a penny, keep a clean house, and their children towed the line. I grew up in the era of good manners ((ma’am and sir), respect for elders, an active participant in family chores (cooking, cleaning, and babysitting our siblings), and I understood, early on, a smart mouth was better left shut.

My siblings and I didn’t receive allowances; we worked after school as soon as were eligible, spent more time outside than inside, behaved in school (or else), strived for A’s and B’s (or else), and owning our own car was a pipe dream. We understood kids and adults were different. The adults made the rules, and we obeyed.

Today, the world, families, and our kids are a different breed, and I have no doubt, if one of my ancestors returned for a visit, they would be stunned. Oh, it wouldn’t be the endless numbers of toys, the technology, or that each child drove a car.

Nope, it would be the lack of family interaction (think cell phones & texting), the lack of courtesy and basic manners. The demand for things, the attitude that they deserve whatever they want without working for them, contributing to, or knowing getting whatever, might place a financial hardship on the parents. Of course, my kids were angels and never behaved this way. (hehe).

Of course, this is on us, the parents. We’ve relegated the responsibilities of raising kids that understand the concept of hard work, respect, community, common decency, and common-sense manners, to society.

I have no doubt my ancestor’s mouth would drop open and within seconds set us all straight.

“Excuse me? What did you just say to your mother?”

She’d be off and running and by the time she finished, we all would have felt as if we’d been to the woodshed.

Not a bad idea. Perhaps, we should bring the woodshed back.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.