80 Years Ago Today

My mother turns 80 today, and this is a shout out to her.  This photo was taken when she was 25 years old--the age that my eldest son is now.

The world was a different place in the 1930's than it is today and I think it must be amazing to have lived through all those changes.  The world of technology is one enormous change.  She was born in rural Maine and so knew people who did not have electricity or indoor plumbing and a party line was the norm for telephone service into the home.  She is not the most technologically savvy grandmother on the block.  She still goes into the bank to complete her transactions, does not have an ATM card, and does not have an email account.  However, she has taken like a duck to water for two things that the information age has to offer--computerized mah jong and streaming Newflix. 

The other thing that has changed are social norms--when George Will noted that the opposition to gay marriage was literally dying, that young people almost universally accept it and it is people my parents age who do not, he was not talking about my mother.  She is accepting of same sex marriage, as well as a woman's right to choose.  She is politically conservative and socially liberal--too bad there isn't a political party for her right now, but I am proud of her ability to change with the times.  So wishing her the happiest of birthdays and hope to have her living close by soon.