It was announced that children’s author Beverly Cleary died on Thursday. She was 104, born in 1916, and a prolific writer. Many of her books were set in the neighborhood in which she grew up, a middle class neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, and based on her own experiences growing up plus the children she knew as a librarian. These books, set in the mid-1900’s, have been a favorite of my children’s. We regularly listen to the Henry Huggins collection and the Ramona Quimby collection as bed time stories, and they are, apparently, a fairly historically accurate representation of the time.

In fact, I’ve learned more about what a standard middle class suburban childhood in that timeframe was like through these books than I have from any history book. Some I knew about, from stories from my mom – tiny 2 bedroom and 1 bathroom houses, unfinished basements, 1 car families. I’ve even had fun stories about milk chutes from my mom. But now listening to these stories, while being both a better student of current culture and being a mom, I’m learning more.

It has taught me, and stimulated discussions with my kids, about expectations, norms, relationships, and what we really need to be happy. About what was the same, what is different, and what can be different.

What makes Henry Huggins happiest? His dog Ribsy, something my girls can understand based on their love of animals, alive and stuffed. And expressions of approval of his father, which were hard to earn.

But then there are these other situations that Henry gets into because of societal expectations, not because anything was really wrong. In fact, both Henry and Beezus feel horrible over bad hair cuts, something that doesn’t physically hurt or cause damage, but something that leaves someone surrounded by a judgmental society feeling vulnerable and hurt.

And I got to see that tv marketing was aggressive back then as much as infomercials are now. And older kids can still be embarrassed by the antics of little kids.

Other things I learned about the times, that are very different from today:

• That kindergartners walked themselves to school.
• That dogs roamed freely, and dog fights were common.
• That everything went into the garbage can, including the grass clippings. And that the bin was at the back door, and got to stay there, the garbage man brought a transfer can that he carried between back door and garbage truck – what a strength requiring job!
• That pulling hair got you sent home from school. And that staying home from kindergarten didn’t get you in trouble.
• That an allowance wasn’t much of a money earner, if you wanted to buy anything much you better go get a job.
• That kids used hand tools much earlier than seems common now.
• That kids roamed the neighborhoods mostly unattended. And children’s disagreements weren’t arbitrated by parents very often. They had to figure out what to play to keep entertained, and how, building executive functioning skills much earlier than kids manage today.
• Disposable diapers were just becoming a thing advertised on tv, but it was still common to use cloth diapers.

Regular family life, without the big external concerns, is still plenty for most children to deal with. Many things have changed, but many things have stayed the same.

Think back on your life

What has stayed the same in your life? What has changed since you were born? With that in mind, does it feel safe to assume that you should plan your entire future life based on what your life is like today? And therefore do you feel confident about how much money you have set aside to fund your future needs? Are you comfortable simplifying your needs, falling back on creative free ideas, and a small house single car lifestyle, like families in the 1950s?