Life a half century ago

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I was remembering how life was when we first got married over 50 years ago. Boy, doesn't that make me sound old! Well, I guess technically I am. We got married in Hawaii while my husband was in the Navy and I was there because my father was in the Coast Guard. I was way too young and immature to be a bride, but... (I wasn't "with child") I was really just still a youngin! But we rented half of a duplex in Nanakuli and set out to be a married couple. I think the only thing I knew how to cook was chili. But of course, I learned as I went and my poor husband was who I practiced on. After our son came along (we were back in NC by then), he wore cloth diapers. Not because of allergies like some babies now, but because disposable diapers were too expensive and only a luxury that was reserved for special occasions. I remember taking a suitcase full of cloth diapers with us when we drove a thousand miles to visit my in-laws. Back at home, did I ever put all those diapers in a dryer? Of course not. We didn't own a dryer at the time. Every one was hung on a clothes line outside, brought in when dry, folded, stored in a cute cloth diaper stacker, and quickly used for that little baby butt! Baby formula was added to boiled water, then all the glass bottles were boiled. This was before car seats or even seat belts for adults. On that long drive to Arkansas, our 18 month old sat on the edge of the passenger seat where I sat and looked out the window the whole way. We had no idea how deadly that could have been. When our children were around seven and twelve, they loved swimming in the creek next to our house. They had a rope tied to a tree branch that they would swing out on and jump into the water. No one thought about the snakes that were around. There were deep holes in the creek (people have died there in the past), but no one saw any danger back then. There's no way in this world we ever let our grandkids go in that creek. We had wised up a lot by then! What did I ever do without a microwave? If I forgot to take out a package of pork chops the night before, I just had to come up with something else that didn't have to be defrosted for hours. Life has certainly changed over the past century. Some for good, some not so good. But I thank God every day for all those years and all those blessings. How has your life changed in the last few years?