Nostalgia, A Waste of Time.,,or Not

This post was provoked by another of those naive political articles stating how glorious our country was 100 years ago when there were no taxes on X,Y or Z. This sort of argument always has the power to irritate the pants off me. There is no Utopia, there never was a Utopia. It is an idea and ideal that helps us strive for better, attempting to create our own perfect place on earth. 
However, to reminisce about days gone by that you never saw, and moan and groan about how wonderful they were instead of living the here and now as best we can, is counter-productive at best.

And yet, I am a fan of the olden days too, for some things. My idol is Tasha Tudor, for goodness' sake! The lady who wished her life right into the 1830's and stayed there. She grew her own fruit and vegetables, spun her own wool, wove her own cloth and sewed her own circa 1830's dresses and petticoats. She wrote and illustrated children's books, which would have used technology far beyond her comfort level, but that was perhaps one compromise among few. She never used modern kitchen utensils, and cooking was a great part of her life.

Hypocritical? Confused? It is all a question of putting action to complaint. In today's world, in the United States, I miss the time spent on what is for me, the essentials of life; good friends, good food, quality creations. These are all values that one can move to a higher place in one's life and gain from the decision, all on your own. No blame, no regrets. So I cook, we eat together always, we see friends for a visit, but not often enough. We limit the number of activities for children that can quickly take over one's family life. I knit, I sew, I bake, we go for long walks in the woods and bike to work. They are small steps on the road to my ideal, but I am not whining about times past, I am living in the present. My compromises include the computer and all of its associates; i-pods and i-phones that are really just tiny versions of powerful computers. Movies, used judiciously, for entertainment of old and young. Considerate, careful use of technology is the aim...and without it, this blog post could not have happened, I know that, thanks.