Reality TV or Ozzie and Harriet Illusionary TV

Getting older brings many things beyond aches and pains. It gives us years of memories, learning and growing and all the things that contribute to those activities. Love, joy, anger, pain, health disease and so forth are all included.
What were we taught about our world when I was younger.?

I grew up in a small town and although My family always expected me to go on to college, I was the first in my entire family to complete college and even then did not finish until after I had children. It was an expectation that I would go to school and do something, yet the time and place where I grew up did little if anything to prepare me for real life. In my Home Economics class, we learned to to the basic cooking, sewing etc. And also were encouraged to maintain our appearance at all times. Looking our best for our "husbands" was part of our life expectations learned in that class. This assumed that we would marry, and be wives first in deference to our husbands. I can remember watching Leave it to Beaver, Ozzie and Harriet, and other programs, where the wife was always dressed up and waiting for her husband to come home, at which time she greeted him and then waited on him. The family always ate dinner together, generally harmoniously. The went to church on Sundays, I never saw the siblings do more than tease each other mildly.

What great training for married life! I loved my husband deeply, and when we decided we wanted to have children to share our love even more it was something we truly did want. We had Gregg and Jason and then a reality show would have been good. Real kids fight, scream and then there was what today is called Post Partum Depression. Thenyis was it is OK honey, you will be fine, just keep busy. Well life did not work that way. The training acquired from our world did not teach us to communicate nor did it prepare us to deal with real life issues. We did not know that marriage was hard work. No one told us about that. I was told to just keep my husband happy, but when you are crying all day that is hard. Life fell apart and we hurt each other, hurt our children. I know I can't change what happened then, I will have guilt lingering in the wings forever over it, but I feel I need to move on and improve how we teach our young.

It isn't anyone persons fault and it happened years ago, so why talk about it today? Well it is because we still aren't teaching our children and young people as well as we should. This is evidenced by the increasing number of senseless crimes committed due to bullying, hate and rage. We still are not teaching the young how to solve real life problems. We still avoid the issues, and many parents are trying so hard to just survive they do not even have the strength to really teach their children. We need to help each other. At least in todays reality TV people fight, discuss and attack problems in an effort to solve them. Their motivations are not love and harmony but they do work at resolution.

Reality TV is an exaggeration of contrived lives and illusionary TV was just as contrived.

God teaches us to listen, hear and see our world. We need to teach each other how to do this to have transparent communications, real conversations about difficult topics and offer ways to discuss these topics. Resolution can be found.

I remarried, and nearly failed again because I did not still know how to have those crucial conversations, turn to God and the professionals he has given us and above all realize that life does not just happen, we make choices each and every day that shapes it.

now my question how do we make a difference in the lives of your Grandchildren, our neighbors the young people we work with? I know that one way is to live accountable lives, talk honestly and truly speak, hear, and act with love. We need to be present in our interactions with others and ask God to help and help and help. I believe we can make a difference one person at a time and I pray I will find a way to make this a bigger thing. I am open to suggestions

Like other posts this will have additions as the thoughts come. for now Please God, teach me to be present and have the conversations when I need to and hear and act in a way that will do your will.