Memories

 I don't know if it's because of the time of year or just getting old but I seem to be looking back more and more.  Everything seemed so much simpler when I was younger.  I guess not having any responsibilities helped a lot.  Actually, until my husband passed away I never took care of paying bills or rent,  I left all that and all the worry up to him.  Now I spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to save money and how to pay for everything.

One thing that has me remembering my teenage years is a Facebook group about a young teen magazine called "Jackie". Of course, with a name like that, I had to buy it, every week from when I was about 13 until I was maybe 16.  Jackie was published from 1964 until 1993.  It had a mixture of fashion and beauty tips, pop gossip, pin-up posters, short stories, and a problem page.   I remember getting it on a Thursday after I finished my paper round.  When I watch Hannah scroll through Instagram looking for makeup ideas or the latest fashion I'm reminded of how I used to pour over the pages of Jackie, wondering if the few pounds I got from my paper round would be enough to buy the latest trend.  

I amazed at the posts on the Jackie Facebook group.  It seems like the ladies around my age all had similar experiences, bought similar clothes, and followed similar pop groups.  I always think that today's social media trends are influencing young people too much but looking at how many ladies had the same poster on their bedroom walls, wore similar make-up and clothes, I think being influenced is not a new thing at all. 

Good or bad, I don't know but remembering those days when the future looked bright and I still didn't understand all the awful news made my teen years a lot better and something to look back on, even if it is with rose-tinted glasses.