Wednesday, July 29, 2009

having it all


i so enjoy conversations with young people these days. it's fun to hear and reflect on how they view the world compared to how i view the world. it's all about the different experiences, the eras we grew up in and the number of years experience we have, i guess. recently i was discussing how we know when "we have it all" with a young co-worker. i was saying that i was never spoiled as a child and yet never wanted for anything. she said how is that possible? and, i said it was quite simple. i had a home to live in, food on the table 3 times a day, constant entertainment with my 4 siblings, and a huge forested yard to play in. raised to respect hard work and the value of a job well-done, we found contentment in gardening and selling strawberries and other vegetables in a little roadside stand. we never expected more than 1 or 2 gifts on our birthdays and were very appreciative of what we got. we would never have even considered whining for a toy or throwing a fit to get a candy bar. it was simply a different time, a simpler life, when it was easy to be satisfied with few material possessions and still feel like we had it all.

the photo is me at around 3 years of age on christmas day. it is one of only 2 dolls i remember owning until i got a barbie on my 12th birthday. i love the look of pure delight on my face.

i count my blessings very day and know that i truly have it all!

p.s. after posting this i was looking at the picture again and thought, wow! i actually had nice eyebrows when i was a toddler. willow recently did a post on eyebrows and i commented that i have overplucked for decades and now have to pencil in a good bit. oh, to have those lovely eyebrows today. big sigh!!


18 comments:

Kristy Worden said...

I think TV has been a big part of this 'change'... without TV we wouldn't even know what we didn't have. I rarely watched TV as a child - I don't think we had one until I was 6 or 7 at least. I do remember at about 5th grade starting to want 'store' clothes more than the ones my mom made...how dumb was that?

julie king said...

yes, i think tv and advertising play a big part in the need to have, kristy. mym om made my sister and i matching outfits when we were little. i so wish i had this one cute little pink suit today.

Betsy Brock said...

This is so sweet! You are so pleased with that new baby doll! (funny about the eyebrows...everybody had great ones when they were three!)

Shannon said...

i think i was a bit spoiled as a kid! BUT... NOTHING like the kids today... the thing that gets me about teenagers... the ENTITLED attitude! I cannot ever remember feeling like I was entitled to a new ANYTHING! And I always knew how hard my parents worked to give me the things that I did have! So... I guess I'm somewhere in-between only having two dolls and having it all and having every possession possible and wanting more! I do believe that with my wonderful family I DO HAVE IT ALL! Thanks for this thought! :)

Christine said...

that's a cute photo of you Julie! Sounds like you had a lovely childhood and better still, you are thankful for it.

Cindy said...

yes, it was different. we were also very good at entertaining ourselves with crafts and making up games, etc. we had less sophistication in technology, but were never bored.

we also didn't have to worry about some of the crime kids do now back then. we would bike around our town all day with no worries. you are so cute in the photo. enjoy your weekend!

Cristi Baxter Clothier said...

Great photo of you! You look adorable!

lori vliegen said...

SO true! boy, i sure lived a simple life growing up, too. and i'm so thankful for it....i learned to really appreciate all of the things in life that can't be bought.

p.s. you were (and still are!) cute as a button....great eyebrows indeed! :)

Staci Danford said...

What a precious post and what a darling picture.. Your sweet eyes tell a story all their own. Such honest words were a Friday treat. Sometimes the most simple pleasures have no price tag. LOVED it..
Staci

Jacqui said...

Loved your post - and picture I too loved the outfits my mother made me - I remeber when i was 6 or 7 getting a Suzy doll - which was not a real Barbie, but was in that mode. I loved her anyway without the brand. xx

Katiejane said...

I so agree with you. I am blown away by all the "stuff" that kids have now. Especially at how they are allowed (and have the money) to order all kinds of stuff off the internet! I keep wondering if anyone encourages kids to have hobbies or to make up their own games any more. Probably not.
Love your new baby doll. She looks vaguely familiar.

Serena Lewis said...

We had pretty much the same upbringing, Julie.....we had a simple life and were very happy kids. today's generation seem to want it all yesterday.

btw, i also have to pencil in some of my eyebrows now due to years of over-plucking in my youth. back then, i would pluck my eyebrows to a thin pencil line...what can i say? it was the 'in' thing at the time! lol

Prairie Emporium said...

Julie, Love the photo (you are so cute) and the post. Things were different.

Michael said...

yes, good eyebrows then!! Why'd dya pluck them?!

"it was simply a different time, a simpler life, when it was easy to be satisfied with few material possessions and still feel like we had it all."
-Ahh. how true.

Unknown said...

I love the photo of you as a child. The story is lovely, too. Even today, I find that I really don't want for much of anything. I feel so fortunate and grateful. We are really blessed to live in a country like this one.

steviewren said...

This picture of you is precious. I have a picture of myself around the same age holding up 2 dolls. I had lost one and mourned her loss so much my mother bought me another. Then one day the first doll was found wherever she had been hiding. I was so happy to have both.

As to brows...I don't have all of mine anymore either. I haven't plucked in years and years. At some point they just quite growing. The same thing happened to my mother.

Brandi said...

Thank you for the beautiful thoughts. It's true. Times are definately different these days. I think there is a lot of greed in the world today (and not just with kids either)

Christie, Describe Happy said...

What a fantastic snap of the past! And you are very right about how things were certainly simpler. I'm a bit younger but growning up in a military family my dad kept us to a simpler life and it was very nice! I can't believe some of the things I hear from kids mouths these days. Great reflection on a sweet memory!