I lived through the 1960’s.
I often hear people talk about that era as if it was all sunshine and
flowers. It was a decade of great
change, horrible events and wonderful milestones.
The United States became a very different country during the
sixties, differences that remain today.
Women began working outside the home in large numbers. There were political movements, “love-ins,”
“free love” and Woodstock.
The sixties began with the election of John Kennedy,
America's youngest President. His death
is one of those moments in my life that remember like it was yesterday, where I
was and what I was doing. Martin Luther
King, a great leader during that time as well, inspired people and made them
believe they could make a difference. He
and Robert Kennedy were assassinated in 1968.
I lived in Los Angeles, and I remember the fear permeating
the city during the “Watts Riots.” There
was a great deal of violence in the south during this era, as the end of
segregation began to take hold. The
incident that stands out was the killing of four children inside a church in
Alabama.
Drug use was no longer something done only by the very worst
of society. It became common among young
people. And, of course, there was the
war in Vietnam. We were all horrified by the news coverage. Protests and rallies because of that war
stand out clearly in my mind.
I was a teenager during most of the sixties. I went to parties, dated and had many good
times with my family. I graduated high
school and attended college. There were
bright moments that helped balance out that decade. A man orbited the earth for the first time in
Apollo 8 in 1968. At the end of the
sixties, Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, and I married my late husband in
1969.
I mentioned earlier that during this time, women began
working outside their homes in large numbers.
Fewer children were raised by their parents. Through the next few decades, children spent
the better part of their days with child care providers, and many parents
missed their first steps, first words and other milestones in their lives.
Over the past few years, we have seen a shift back to the
stay-at-home mom. More mothers – and fathers – are quitting their jobs to raise
their children. With the cost of living,
it is more difficult than forty or fifty years ago, which has led to the huge
growth of home businesses. Stay-at-home
parents now have myriad choices of businesses they can run from their
homes. Many parents today put their children
before their second car or a bigger house.
There are young mothers on my Xpress Healthcare team. As time goes on, I will be able to help even
more parents to work from home. It is
wonderful to see that they can attend school plays, soccer practice and be
there to help them with their homework after school. Their children will have happier memories
because their parents sacrificed and put their children first. http://joinxpresshealthcare.com
