I am 60, so my parents are gone obviously. But my father lived until he was 90, and my mother died at 80.
My mother was a saint. The word I would use to describe her is "guileless." What you saw was what you got -- devoted, nurturing, dedicated to her husband and family. My father worked at the same job for 42 years -- and he didn't own a car until he was 50. He took the bus to work everyday. We were never poor, but I didn't know how close we were to the edge until years later.
I wrote the eulogies for both of them. Had someone else deliver them. I couldn't.
I never ever saw my parents fight. Ever. If there were arguments, I never saw them. Looking back, it was perhaps the most stable upbringing you could imagine.
My parents were of the WWII generation, where you got married, raised a family, went to work, lived within your means, and kept the social fabric intact.
In some ways things are much much better today -- and in others? Well, we are in deep deep trouble.
My mother was a saint. The word I would use to describe her is "guileless." What you saw was what you got -- devoted, nurturing, dedicated to her husband and family. My father worked at the same job for 42 years -- and he didn't own a car until he was 50. He took the bus to work everyday. We were never poor, but I didn't know how close we were to the edge until years later.
I wrote the eulogies for both of them. Had someone else deliver them. I couldn't.
I never ever saw my parents fight. Ever. If there were arguments, I never saw them. Looking back, it was perhaps the most stable upbringing you could imagine.
My parents were of the WWII generation, where you got married, raised a family, went to work, lived within your means, and kept the social fabric intact.
In some ways things are much much better today -- and in others? Well, we are in deep deep trouble.