We recently attended the celebration of life service for my almost 98 year old aunt. She was the youngest sibling of my mom and her sisters and brothers, born almost 14 years after my mother, who left this life 17 years ago.
Back in “those days”, in the 1920’s, having a baby that late in life was embarrassing and almost unheard of. My mom was told her baby sister was found in the cabbage space, and my mom, who was about 13 at the time, went out to the fields and looked to see if she could find another baby.
My aunt was born in the 1920’s. Her parents, my grandparents, didn’t even have electricity at the time, although they got it a few years later. They did have indoor plumbing, but still had an outhouse that we grandchildren who were born in the 50’s, did use on occasion.
My grandparents had a phone. They were one of the first families in the area who did. It was in the wall, and when it rang, the family members had to figure out whether it was for them, or other families because there were party lines and several families were on the same line, but had different rings for each family. There were actual operators who helped the families answer or place their calls.
My grandfather was a farmer, working some 200+ acres of farmland with a mule and a plow. He raised chickens, cows, and pigs, along with his crops of potatoes, corn, and soybeans.
My grandparents actually had two kitchens in their house. They were back to back. One with a sink and a wood stove, and one with a sink, refrigerator, and a gas stove. They thought they had one of the most modern homes in the area. And most likely they did.
This was the era my mom and aunts and uncles grew up in. I’d never really thought about it until one of my cousins’ spoke about it in my aunt’s eulogy.
Just think of all the things she and her sisters and brothers had to adjust to from the years they grew up in until they passed from this life.
And think about all of the things we’ve seen change during our years of life so far.
From the ascent of television, to 8 tracks and CD’s, to computers and cell phones, and all types of changes involving all manner of connectivity.
My aunt who passed away at 97 a few weeks ago never really totally understood how to use her cell phone, and still relied on her old rotary dial phone in her kitchen. Neither she nor my mother ever used a computer.
None of my aunts and uncles, my mom and her four siblings, had ever been on a plane. They all learned to drive on stick shift cars with the gearshift on the steering column. My cousins and our spouses know how to do that, but our kids, they have no idea.
The lives of my father, who died over 60 years ago, and my aunt’s husband, who died almost 40 years ago, could possibly have been saved if the medical advances of today had been around back then.
These are just some of the things we’ve thought about over the last weeks with the passing of our aunt, the last of the Lang family siblings.
It’s been a time of reflection as well as a time of grieving and celebration of a long life well lived.
It also sets in motion a time of reflection of our lives to date, as well as a time of contemplation of the years we have left. Longevity runs in my family, and I am hoping for another 15-20 years, hopefully with good health. Although, my aunts and uncles developed severe Alzheimer’s and dementia in their later years, and my mom was just in the beginning stages of dementia when we lost her.
But no matter what the circumstances, at some point we will all enter into those late years, and we have no idea what they will bring. Our generation is entering a new time, and no matter how young or old we feel, all we need to do is look at the reality of our actual ages to make us realize that we are now looking ahead and seeing a much shorter road ahead of us than in back of us.
The changes we’ve seen in the world are numerous; too many to really count.
And for those of you who are much younger than I am, you really can’t even begin to imagine the changes you’ll see.
Gives you a new perspective on life, doesn’t it?