The times there are a changin’ folks, just like Bob Dylan told us they were. This story in the Guardian Weekly (article by Cal Flynn on February 5, 2021), states that we are now in a state of depopulation in nearly half of all countries of the world. Who knew?! In 1950, a woman had an average of 4.7 children over her lifetime. Today, that figure has fallen to 2.4. If it falls below 2.1, the global population will begin to decline. And, once again in the Guardian Weekly February 26, 2021 New Zealand’s birth rate has dropped to his lowest ever… “well below the population replacement rate of 2.1. According to statistics New Zealand, the total fertility rate dropped to 1.61 births per woman of childbearing age.”
My, my, my but times have changed because when I was little, there were mostly big families! Am I right? I knew families and have friends today who hailed from even larger than families of seven kids…eleven, thirteen, fifteen children! Almost unheard of in today’s world.
My earliest stories are about the times in my family when the Catholic church reigned. Birth control was shunned and every sperm was sacred. (Monty Python’s song). Consequence: Many children. Mom stayed home to make it all possible, “holding down the fort” and doing three-parts of the work (as my mother-in-law would say) while dad escaped to work, in his clean suit, starched shirt, tie and hat, cleanly shaven and with Aqua Velva cologne splashed on. He would come home to a hot, home-cooked dinner on the table then homemade, from scratch daily dessert and his newspaper during clean up.
My parents married in the 1950s and had seven children (all born in different towns from Burk’s Falls, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan. All of us were born between 1954 and 1969.) Imagine having seven children and moving and setting up and adapting to seven different homes plus moving to the lake every summer. As my eldest brother points out, there was always at least one full-sized piano to move, level and accommodate too, not to mention at least one pet.
Big families equal many many happenings. We all interacted, mostly happily, with lots of singing and story telling and had tons of fun but often not. At the drop of a dime there were tumbling fights or screaming debates at any moment as resources were vied for and negotiated. These incredibly diverse personalities that made up my family churned out a plethora of hilarious, and not so hilarious times. Countless incredible memories that informed our lives.
For my stories about my big family, click here or on the Those Were The Days! category and enjoy. (And leave a comment. I love them!)
Left to right standing: Amy (1955), Mom (1930-2001 R.I.P.), Eva (1954), Jobe (1964), Mark (1960), Dad (1929-2008, R.I.P.), Luke (1969, in arms), Me (1966, I’m the little one at the front with one bent knee). Sitting: Matt (not impressed with this photo-taking, obviously, born 1956); This photo was taken at The Camp in about 1971 in Ontario, Canada.
Thank you Arden. I would LOVE you to write the alternative to the alternative. That would be interesting!!!! Great to read your comment and yes, we are staying away from the variant. Nova Scotia currently has 24 cases of COVID. Two Four. (Coincidence? I think not.) So, we are doing okay. Looking forward to the Atlantic Bubble reforming next month.
I fully agree about Pearson. It would be impossible to stop the spread in a huge International airport such as Pearson in Toronto.
Keep on commenting. I love ’em!
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Good Day MM, Interesting alternative ending that you wrote while barefoot and pregnant with ideas. (Haha) May I write an alternative to the alternative?
Full-size or Full-sized
Both are correct and usable. Both have slightly different emphases. “Full-size” indicates that it is of the right size, while “full-sized” also implies that it was deliberately made to that size. It’s a very slight difference.
Which one do you mean in the sentence above? I believe you mean ‘full-sized’ piano, right?
Correction: full-sized
Correction: homemade (no hyphen)
Nova Scotia looks to be warming up for a beautiful spring. Your photos just keep getting better and better.
Stay warm and healthy away from that infernal scourge. BC is getting warmer. Anyway, I am getting pretty fed up with the numbers heading to 1 million cases. This occurred last summer when I was shocked the majority of Canadians simply did not take it seriously enough. And, Pearson International is a factor. Where is the logic in keeping an international airport open as the numbers climb. In fact, BC has been just hit again. And, Alberta has that dreaded double mutant variant that was recently found in India. How the f..k did that happen? Boggles the mind. Stay safe always sister. Loving hugs and three pats on the back.
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