Monday 16th February

Life has become so complicated, and is increasingly set to continue.  Is it any wonder that many of us are yearning for a simpler life?  I have worked for forty-seven years now, and in a large way it does define you.  There is a natural fear of no longer having a job to go to, no longer that central purpose in life, when maybe that should really have been to have and to raise a family.  But even that was simpler a few years ago.  Now, with two wages almost essential, women have to balance work and childcare and the complex financial calculations too.  Many women work for very little after paying for Nursery fees, but if they give up work for five years their career may be over too.  No such considerations in my day.  I have always been secretly proud of not having a career at all.  I just had jobs that mostly managed to pay the bills, and when I lost one job I went out and got another – a career was never in my mind, it was mostly surviving and having a bit of fun on the side.

I can still remember my Dad coming home on a Friday night and handing his pay packet (in cash) to Mum, who divied it up for Rent and a handful of bills, housekeeping, a small amount to be saved for Holiday or Christmas as she returned my Dad ten bob for his beer money.  Although they didn’t realize it life was comparatively simple, they may not have much but it wasn’t too complicated either.  Now we have Rent or Mortgage, Council Tax (which used to be included in their rent), Water Rates (similarly a new charge), Electricity, Gas, Insurance, Mobile Phone, TV License, Car Tax and Insurance and for most of us Car Finance payments, Sky or Virgin TV, plus maybe a couple of HP or maintenance  agreements.  Your bank statement is filled up with D.Ds.  Then there are Credit and Debit cards to control – we all know how easy it is to spend too much on these, and now with contactless it’s even easier.

Hardly a day goes by when you have to attend to something, even if it is just phoning the kids, or answering e-mails.  Oh, of course we didn’t have computers then either, or phones.  And yet we used to either go to some relative or friends every Sunday, or they would come to us.  How did we ever manage without e-mails and mobile phones?

So, in many ways I long for a simpler life, without my Pavlovian enslavement to my phone, or that itch to see who is posting what on Facebook, or simply switching on the telly to see the latest news.  I just long to spend a whole afternoon immersed undisturbed in a book.  Hardly likely to happen, but nice to think about maybe.