Editor’s Letter

SIMPLE PASTIMES

It’s been said that people in Generation X are faring better than others during the pandemic. We follow the baby boomers, who are high risk due to their age, and we precede the millennials and Generation Z, who have lost so much of their recently earned independence.

As kids, we Gen Xers were left to our own devices for entertainment. After school and chores and jobs, evening and weekend options were somewhat limited. Talking to friends meant using a corded phone that offered little privacy. Programming on the one TV we owned was dictated by four networks and two parents. Movies, vacations, and eating out were rare treats, reserved only for special occasions.

So what did we do? We rode our bikes around town just to get out of the house. We helped make dinner, weed the garden, and cleaned bathrooms. We played cards or put together puzzles with family. Does this sound familiar again?

If all you needed back in the day was a Rubik’s cube to entertain yourself for hours, you have earned some serious sheltering-in-place skills. If our family needs us, we’ll be on the front porch, enjoying fresh air and waving to the neighbors. Because we have always known, and younger generations are learning, that the simple things in life have always been the most important.

Michelle Dellinger

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