Change to spare

I found out after visiting with my 9-year-old daughter’s teacher that cursive writing is no longer being taught and neither is spelling. I have to say that came as somewhat of a surprise to me. I kind of understand the cursive writing thing, but spelling stumped me. Then the teacher explained that most of the children’s writing is now done on computers that have a spell check program, so there is really no need to teach spelling.

I mean, it makes sense when you think of it in those parameters, but it still makes me a little sad. I remember when I first learned to write in cursive. I thought I had broken a barrier and was now more of an adult since I could write in those curly letters. Writing my name in cursive was a big thrill and I practiced signing my autograph because I just knew someday I would be asked for it.

Life is about change and it should be. But nostalgia got me thinking about all the other things my daughter will not be exposed to in today’s modern world.

Take phone booths, for instance. She will not know about going into that small glassed-in closet to make a telephone call. Also, she will never understand how Superman can be walking down the street dressed as Clark Kent and then change into his Superman costume with no one seeing him.

My daughter will also never know the thrill of looking up stuff in an encyclopedia. I remember asking my dad a question about something and his response more often than not was “go look it up in the encyclopedia.” We had a cool collection of 16 different books that were alphabetized and also with color photographs, so I really enjoyed looking through them. Of course, my parents bought the books when my oldest sister was in elementary school, so they were a little dated by the time I came along. But I don’t think the world changed as fast back then. It seemed like Ronald Reagan was always the president and Burt Reynolds was always the biggest movie star. I may be crossing my decades there, but you get the idea.

Now we come to the biggest regret I have for my child — Tang. For those who don’t remember, Tang was a powder that you would add to water to create an amazing orange-flavored drink. The astronauts used it on space flights. So drinking Tang was super cool. I remember mixing up some delicious Tang and drinking it by the barrel fulls while growing up. My daughter will never know the unique flavor of that dusty concoction. It was part orange juice and part science experiment. But it was all good. My dad liked his Tang strong, so he would add 4 tablespoons to a glass of water. Me, I preferred it with just 2. Nothing better than a big ol’ glass of Tang and a peanut butter sandwich. Now that is fine dining.

Change happens whether we are ready for it or not. I’m not ready for my daughter to grow up and become an adult, but I know it will happen. I’m not ready to get arthritis and have my joints ache, but it is happening. I’m not ready to retire someday and enjoy the Florida beaches on a regular basis. Oh wait, maybe all change isn’t bad. …