Do you do anything totally differently from your parents?

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clemencia2us
Posts: 11445
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 9:21 am

Re: Do you do anything totally differently from your parents?

Post by clemencia2us »

chocolite wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 2:33 pm I think I learned what not to do from my parents. Before I was born, they were subsistent tenant farmers, truly hand-to-mouth. But in the 60s they moved from Arkansas to Indiana and got jobs in a factory. Dad was on day shift, mom on nights. As a child I remember lots of processed food -- TV dinners, sloppy joes, hotdogs, buns and light bread -- which felt luxurious to us. But there were also plenty of beans (from dry), cornbread, potatoes, rabbit, squirrel, frog legs, etc. Money was always tight. I don't think they ever had a savings account. It just seemed like they were surviving and not looking ahead. If there was ever any extra money, dad spent it on drinking. :-( Sounds like a Faulkner novel, right?

I have a lot more privilege than my parents ever did. I got out, went to college, got good jobs and was able to thrive rather than just live. I was the first one in my family to graduate college. So yes, I would say my life is totally different than my parents'.

As far as food, the first 18-19 years of our marriage, I did a ton of from-scratch cooking. I love to cook. It's only been the last several years that I've been forced to rely on convenience foods. Many days I do well to make one of my "fast and easy" meals. But every now and then I'll feel up to making something from scratch and it's still something I love to do.
Yes it does!!

I have lots of relatives that moved up north - even some in Indiana - for better jobs. They all mostly worked farm type jobs. They basically stayed and went on to do different things - kids went to college etc.

It is very interesting. In some places they brought the hispanic foods and made it more popular

One distant cousin moved to Washington state and later even won a James Beard award for their tamales.
Grannysewstoys
Posts: 4155
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:37 pm

Re: Do you do anything totally differently from your parents?

Post by Grannysewstoys »

I don’t know how different I plan than my parents.

My dad was diagnosed with cancer of the brain when I was 4. Their budget was alway tight.

When I joined my husband in Germany he was a PFC. They don’t get paid much. When he got paid I subtracted the rent and electric bill from the total. Then I divided the money into weeks until the next payday. I could afford to buy most of what we needed each week. This only backfired once. That is when the PX had the type of potty chair I wanted for my son.

I didn’t have the money that week. The next time they went they didn’t have any. I had to wait until they got more. I kept that money extra with me until I was able to buy it.

Penny
mbrudnic
Posts: 4498
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 7:57 am

Re: Do you do anything totally differently from your parents?

Post by mbrudnic »

My Parents were always careful with their money. Mom was #2 of 11 kids and oldest girl. She cooked mostly from scratch, but did leave us with some frozen meals such as pot pies when she worked second shift. She used the timed bake on the oven all the time. Once she moved to day shift, she was a master at a 30 minute meal. Dad grew up with money but was still careful.

We were the "rich" family on my Mom's side. Most of my clothes were new and then passed down to my cousins. Mom though a hot lunch was important so she gave us $$ to buy lunch at school. The first few years of Catholic school, they did not supply lunches so we had to pack, which Mom hated. She tried to keep Hostess-type snacks in the freezer for lunches, but we ate them frozen. DB1 and I both made our lunches because Mom was out the door before we got up. It was sandwiches. I don't really remember what else. Mom had an interesting wardrobe, nurses whites, Jean and sweatshirts and some very dressy items. Not much of what we today call "business casual" I remember being a teen and going to the department store with her. She was going with Dad on a business trip and needed such clothes. I kept bringing her stuff and she tried them on and somewhat nervously took home an armful of clothing. She was nervous that Dad would be upset. He was not. I think it might have been the first time she bought several outfits at once.

We always had good shoes. She still talks about putting cardboard in her shoes because she did not want to tell her parents that her shoes had holes.

When I was newly married, it was funny how differently my Mom and I shopped. She was into quality food. I was more into paying for daycare and internet. LOL. At 77 she still mostly does not like to eat out. She thinks she can make it cheaper and better herself. But she is also getting tired of cooking and her stomach issues prevent her from eating a big meal. But she never regrets eating breakfast or a good steak meal at a restaurant.
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