WE LOVE THIS MOVIE. And I agree with all of it. My “stay with the OG” favorite thing to do? My ‘To Do’ list is written on paper—from a magnetic notepad that is on the side of my fridge. And I still write my weekly menu on a chalkboard in the kitchen, just like my grandma did! Keep it old school as much as possible! Glass—no plastic. Cook—no Door Dash. Sit in the sun (sunscreen)—no self-tanner. We grew up in the 80s and will survive! God got us this far; He’s not going to leave us now. ❤️
My kids like to say they were raised like Gen X, they don't claim "Millennial." As they discovered when they left for college, their homeschool was much more reserved than many of their peers education. Even though they attended a small Christian liberal arts college. We had a VCR, books on cassette tapes, books of varying subjects, lots of outside playtime. Little media, no cable TV. Lots of family time. We didn't do organized team sports-too many kids, not enough money. Except for the short season church sponsored leagues. They appreciate it now, as young adults. One says: We were raised right. 😄 I thank God for the opportunity we afforded them, the blessing of being home with them, and the protection he gave them. I fear for the next generation, in that what they have to face should not be. Children should be allowed to be children.
We talk about this often in our home, with our family and our friends. I wish I could have given my children the same childhood I had. I tried my best, but it still wasn’t the same.
The joke in our house is that I would be just fine if all of the technology was gone tomorrow. I still read real books, I listen to vinyl and CDs, I still write everything down with a pen and paper, I take my paper grocery list to the store with me and mark things off, I write checks for our bills and put them in the mail with a stamp on the envelope. The nostalgia is overwhelming sometimes. In those times, I read my Bible, I say my prayers, and thank God that I am His. I hug my family, laugh with my friends, tend to my garden, and realize I will be one of the last to bend to whatever the very odd technological future will look like.
What I remind myself of often is that God put me here at this time in history and I trust Him completely. Then I smile and go to the technology I am so not a fan of to see what my friend Rachel has to say today😉
One of my favorite movies…I (along with my mom and sisters) watch it every year between Christmas and New Year’s even if we are not together. Our family has SO many quotes we use from this movie!
Although technology has its benefits and usefulness….it has stolen so much from us. 😢
This was wonderful, Rachel. So nice of you to share your thoughts. And so important that we all do the same with the friends & loved ones around us.
I, too, feel everything you spoke of! And realizing it seems an even greater grief for those of us in a different season of life. My friends and I have lived approximately 6 decades of how you described the “90s.”
I am close to 70 and have never felt more alienated from things. Oh how I miss those sweet days. Our lives were less complicated and more attuned.
But our Lord reminds me continually in His Word, that this is not our home, and we are aliens in a strange land. (Getting stranger all the time!🤪) So we keep our eyes on Him and enjoy the beauty & blessings all around us.
This is precisely what my husband and I have been discussing for a long while now. I appreciated when you said, “We can pick the instant or we can pick the best - each day, little by little.” We’ve decided to get rid of our video streaming services, opting to use VHS and DVDs instead. I’ve started using cash more instead of credit cards. Adding in a landline for the kids and at home use while foregoing apps while we’re away from home. That’s what it looks like for us for now. But there’s so much more I hope to implement. I’d love to hear what everyone else has been incorporating to back-step this tech advancement craze. And to think: when I was 18 years old in film and photography school, studying acting this technology was a thing we’d dream about. But I never saw the downfall it would cause.
It is interesting too that the Palantir in LOTR could only be used by the true king - not even Gandalf trusted himself to use it. Assuming the company founder knows the story, it would seem that he found himself worthy to be “king” of the Palantir.
I can’t believe you wrote this yesterday. The day that my husband and I stumbled upon some concerning things on our almost 15 year old Daughter‘s phone. We spent five hours combing through everything and reinstalling Bark. They had pin wheel phones for two years but going into high school we got them iPhones. Phones are plugged in at night in the kitchen never allowed overnight in their rooms. They are good girls (twins). We go to church but still it was too much for them. And I feel naïve for thinking we would be different. Going to watch this movie as a family tonight and have a discussion. This article you wrote is unbelievably timely and I know It’s not coincidence. Thank you Rachel for writing whats on your heart and letting Him lead you.
We’ve done a lot to insulate our home and we talk about tech and AI with our kids, but boy do I feel the pull to use AI at work in the name of saving time and efficiency, but have felt a natural resistance to protect my critical thinking skills. We see evidence of this loss in the TPUSA videos that show just how little our college kids know and can reason, but I also wonder if on the end of the age spectrum if some of the increase in dementia and Alzheimer’s we will undoubtedly see will be attributed not just to poor nutrition, sedentary lifestyle, and chemical exposure, but also because we are literally being challenged to “use it or lose it” daily as adults?
One of my families favorite movies! The funny physical comedy is hilarious and understated- the newspaper boy throwing the paper and wrecking his bike, moving the sofa- so many hilarious moments! Such a fun, carefree movie!
Loved this, Rachel. One of my very favorite movies and so quotable!
This reminds me a bit of a weekly get together we did during covid- our kids' school went to 4 days a week that first full year, so several families from that school and homeschool would meet every Friday at a park. It was so therapeutic for me, and felt so good to offer our kids some sliver of normalcy in a world gone mad.
Some small things we currently do that I am so grateful for- my girls love to send mail to cousins and friends (although the cost of stamps is truly insane!). I stock up on Trader Joe's amazingly cheap b-day cards and we send those out as best we can to relatives every month. I love having a physical calendar on our fridge to write activities on. And I love me a good thrift score- an old typewriter for family use (that I still have yet to set up), and a CD player in our basement for my girls to listen to books on tape or old CDs of mine from the good ol' 2000s. It makes me sad to hear new vehicles don't have CD players- our current mini van has a CD player and I will drive that thing into the ground!
Oh friend, I was trying to read the screen as tears filled my eyes. I miss it all so much. I felt every word you typed. 🥹🫶🏻
WE LOVE THIS MOVIE. And I agree with all of it. My “stay with the OG” favorite thing to do? My ‘To Do’ list is written on paper—from a magnetic notepad that is on the side of my fridge. And I still write my weekly menu on a chalkboard in the kitchen, just like my grandma did! Keep it old school as much as possible! Glass—no plastic. Cook—no Door Dash. Sit in the sun (sunscreen)—no self-tanner. We grew up in the 80s and will survive! God got us this far; He’s not going to leave us now. ❤️
My kids like to say they were raised like Gen X, they don't claim "Millennial." As they discovered when they left for college, their homeschool was much more reserved than many of their peers education. Even though they attended a small Christian liberal arts college. We had a VCR, books on cassette tapes, books of varying subjects, lots of outside playtime. Little media, no cable TV. Lots of family time. We didn't do organized team sports-too many kids, not enough money. Except for the short season church sponsored leagues. They appreciate it now, as young adults. One says: We were raised right. 😄 I thank God for the opportunity we afforded them, the blessing of being home with them, and the protection he gave them. I fear for the next generation, in that what they have to face should not be. Children should be allowed to be children.
This is one of our favorite movies! Its equal is Return to Me of the same era.
It's difficult to stay grounded in this ever-changing world, but I KNOW THAT I KNOW God has placed us here for such a time as this
I was coming to the comments to recommend Return to Me! Glad to see other families enjoy these bygone era movies. 💜
We talk about this often in our home, with our family and our friends. I wish I could have given my children the same childhood I had. I tried my best, but it still wasn’t the same.
The joke in our house is that I would be just fine if all of the technology was gone tomorrow. I still read real books, I listen to vinyl and CDs, I still write everything down with a pen and paper, I take my paper grocery list to the store with me and mark things off, I write checks for our bills and put them in the mail with a stamp on the envelope. The nostalgia is overwhelming sometimes. In those times, I read my Bible, I say my prayers, and thank God that I am His. I hug my family, laugh with my friends, tend to my garden, and realize I will be one of the last to bend to whatever the very odd technological future will look like.
What I remind myself of often is that God put me here at this time in history and I trust Him completely. Then I smile and go to the technology I am so not a fan of to see what my friend Rachel has to say today😉
One of my favorite movies…I (along with my mom and sisters) watch it every year between Christmas and New Year’s even if we are not together. Our family has SO many quotes we use from this movie!
Although technology has its benefits and usefulness….it has stolen so much from us. 😢
SO MANY GREAT QUOTES.
Wonderful article! I feel stuck between two times as well. I long for the good old days as I scroll on my phone. It’s so hard!
This was wonderful, Rachel. So nice of you to share your thoughts. And so important that we all do the same with the friends & loved ones around us.
I, too, feel everything you spoke of! And realizing it seems an even greater grief for those of us in a different season of life. My friends and I have lived approximately 6 decades of how you described the “90s.”
I am close to 70 and have never felt more alienated from things. Oh how I miss those sweet days. Our lives were less complicated and more attuned.
But our Lord reminds me continually in His Word, that this is not our home, and we are aliens in a strange land. (Getting stranger all the time!🤪) So we keep our eyes on Him and enjoy the beauty & blessings all around us.
Thx again!❤️
Recently watched You’ve Got Mail and had many similar thoughts.
This movie and Return to Me are two of my favs. ❤️
This is precisely what my husband and I have been discussing for a long while now. I appreciated when you said, “We can pick the instant or we can pick the best - each day, little by little.” We’ve decided to get rid of our video streaming services, opting to use VHS and DVDs instead. I’ve started using cash more instead of credit cards. Adding in a landline for the kids and at home use while foregoing apps while we’re away from home. That’s what it looks like for us for now. But there’s so much more I hope to implement. I’d love to hear what everyone else has been incorporating to back-step this tech advancement craze. And to think: when I was 18 years old in film and photography school, studying acting this technology was a thing we’d dream about. But I never saw the downfall it would cause.
It is interesting too that the Palantir in LOTR could only be used by the true king - not even Gandalf trusted himself to use it. Assuming the company founder knows the story, it would seem that he found himself worthy to be “king” of the Palantir.
I can’t believe you wrote this yesterday. The day that my husband and I stumbled upon some concerning things on our almost 15 year old Daughter‘s phone. We spent five hours combing through everything and reinstalling Bark. They had pin wheel phones for two years but going into high school we got them iPhones. Phones are plugged in at night in the kitchen never allowed overnight in their rooms. They are good girls (twins). We go to church but still it was too much for them. And I feel naïve for thinking we would be different. Going to watch this movie as a family tonight and have a discussion. This article you wrote is unbelievably timely and I know It’s not coincidence. Thank you Rachel for writing whats on your heart and letting Him lead you.
We’ve done a lot to insulate our home and we talk about tech and AI with our kids, but boy do I feel the pull to use AI at work in the name of saving time and efficiency, but have felt a natural resistance to protect my critical thinking skills. We see evidence of this loss in the TPUSA videos that show just how little our college kids know and can reason, but I also wonder if on the end of the age spectrum if some of the increase in dementia and Alzheimer’s we will undoubtedly see will be attributed not just to poor nutrition, sedentary lifestyle, and chemical exposure, but also because we are literally being challenged to “use it or lose it” daily as adults?
One of my families favorite movies! The funny physical comedy is hilarious and understated- the newspaper boy throwing the paper and wrecking his bike, moving the sofa- so many hilarious moments! Such a fun, carefree movie!
I’ve loved this movie since the moment I saw it. Thank you for the reminder.
Loved this, Rachel. One of my very favorite movies and so quotable!
This reminds me a bit of a weekly get together we did during covid- our kids' school went to 4 days a week that first full year, so several families from that school and homeschool would meet every Friday at a park. It was so therapeutic for me, and felt so good to offer our kids some sliver of normalcy in a world gone mad.
Some small things we currently do that I am so grateful for- my girls love to send mail to cousins and friends (although the cost of stamps is truly insane!). I stock up on Trader Joe's amazingly cheap b-day cards and we send those out as best we can to relatives every month. I love having a physical calendar on our fridge to write activities on. And I love me a good thrift score- an old typewriter for family use (that I still have yet to set up), and a CD player in our basement for my girls to listen to books on tape or old CDs of mine from the good ol' 2000s. It makes me sad to hear new vehicles don't have CD players- our current mini van has a CD player and I will drive that thing into the ground!