My wife and I have been enjoying the late afternoons this month sitting on our deck, recapping our work day, what the world is going through, planning the days ahead, and more. As the sun sets behind our oaks and pines, it has been comfortable – much more comfortable than last week in Omaha where the late afternoon temperatures got into the 90s most of our six days there.

We sometimes delve into what life was like growing up in the 1960s and 1970s when we were pre-teens and teens, in comparison what our two granddaughters and kids their age (13 and 17) have experienced or are currently experiencing.

We were fortunate to grow up locally where neighborhoods were filled with kids our age and summer activities weren’t hard to find. We were outside a lot. We walked or biked to friends’ houses or the local playround or ballfields to find something to do. We don’t see a lot of that these days, perhaps due to the sparseness of actual neighborhoods, the advent of the internet and kids being “plugged in” a lot, more traffic on the roads, etc.

These days, a lot of parents (Mom and Dad) both must work to make ends meet and some family time at the dinner table seems to be lost or hurried. We were fortunate to have that type of gathering to discuss several topics – school, friends, activities and more.

Other things have changed as well – we had no cell phones (just the landlines), ate what was served at dinner, lots of homework, stricter teachers, competing for spots on a school team, and more.

Times have changed but we are glad we had what we had. We learned about respect, responsibility and how working hard pays off.