Sharing of Memories

I've read two books written in the early 1960s within the past week, and I've started to watch Mad Men, which is also set in the early 1960s. I don't think I would have liked living in the early 1960s. I would feel pressured to get married young, be a stay-at-home mom who would wear those dresses with full skirts and have perfect hair all day. It would feel so confining, and then I'd end up going all Sylvia Plath. (Was she from the early 1960s?) OMG, I just looked her up. She committed suicide in 1963. I could totally see why she did it after reading these two books and watching Mad Men.

That time is right between my grandparents' and parents' generation. I think back to my grandparents and my parents. I wish I knew more about them. I know a few things, but the things I know all revolve around the milestones in their lives, not really any hopes/dreams/feelings/thoughts they had when they were growing up or even now (although my grandparents are all deceased now and so is my dad). I'd like to know about their first loves, did they achieve their dreams, what were their dreams, why they married who they did, etc.

My mom's the only one alive. She's really not forthcoming. I once had to interview her in college and asked her all these questions, and I got almost nothing beyond simple facts. I don't think I will ever get anything out of her that's beyond facts in scope.

I was one of those kids who wanted my grandparents to talk and share stories of the past. But they really didn't. I heard a few, but those were namely from my uncle, and they were stories about when my grandfather invited people over for a bbq and only had hot dogs (no buns, no drinks, no side dishes) or when my grandfather carpeted the bathroom with a mosaic of scrap pieces of different colored carpet samples he found. 

It's sad that I don't have much to share with Julia about her great grandparents and grandparents as she grows up. My promise can be to be more open with her, which won't be difficult to achieve when comparing to my parents and grandparents.