Why Dating in the 70’s Was so Different

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My grandpa is a tease and likes to tease me about dating. He will bring it up once every time I see him. While I was talking to him recently, I complained about a date I had who didn’t call me. My grandpa told me that I would have had a hard time with dating him, and explained that those days were different. “Your grandmother had to wait months between dates at times,” he said. I can’t picture having the patience for this. I know that not everyone was that way 40 years ago, but it seems like it did take longer to get what you are looking for back then.

Dating in the 79s

Medical school or dating

Today people have pretty busy lives, but technology has cut down the amount of time it takes to do a lot of things. In order to live and get by, people can work during the daytime, and have the evening off to relax and spend time on whatever they want to. Technology allows for more time to be spent recreationally. This means we have more time to play.

It was crazy to me to learn that my grandparents went months without seeing each other. I wondered what could be wrong with my grandfather. When I made a confused expression, he told me college was a busy time for him. His priorities were set and didn’t allow for a lot of dating. “I had to worry about getting accepted into medical school, so I didn’t have the time to go out dating every weekend,” Don said.

He said it wasn’t strange for Barbra (my grandma) to only talk to him when they were on their one date per month. He told me that up to the wedding day, they didn’t even see each other every week. Today this would be unheard of in any case besides long distance. In this day and age, young people who are dating will spend almost every day together even after just beginning the dating process.

Cancer

A couple of years ago, my grandpa was diagnosed with cancer and although he decided he would never go through chemotheripy, things changed when he felt that he had more precious years left to live.

Now he is retired

I think that my grandparents are a great match, but I am learning that she was the more social one. “Barbra was going with more other guys than I was with other girls,” Don said. Once they began dating seriously she had to give up her social ways.  “Sometimes she was going dancing but I would have to study, so we could not go or had to go with her friends.”

Traveling

It turns out it was worth the time it took Don to finish school, because now he and Barbra travel all over the world. They have recently gone to Paris, Italy, Peru, and many other places. They have built their own house, which was designed by Barbra.

It’s probably not fun to have a busy life right after marriage, but I am guessing it is worth it. I am learning that many people have to wait for their spouse to finish school, and a lot of the time they will choose homework over fun. However this is worth it in the end.

Citations:
  • myvintagelove is the flickr account for the photo

Tiffany S. Thatcher is a guest blogger who specializes in a San Diego Nursing Home.

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