In old-timey sitcoms, I always see the “charmingly dysfunctional” families: Leave it to Beaver, The Brady Bunch, even the Addams Family. We all look back on those days and see it as “a simpler time.” I’ve always wondered specifically what that means: our technological progress? Our society’s values? Or does it simply mean the simple things are gone?

The thing that’s changed over time which fascinates me the most is the way families have changed. In the shows on TV Land, the families endure humorous turmoil, encounter hijinks that teach lessons, and I think most notably, they had dinner together. In my family, we really only have dinner together on holidays because we all have things to do like jobs, homework or just relaxing. I don’t really think much of it because I think that’s really how pretty much all families are, but I don’t think that’s a good thing; I know families are always busy but I really feel like we’re drifting apart.

And then there’s technology – everyone always wants the next cell phone, or iPad or videogame. Once when I had to go to the post office to buy stamps for my boss, I had no idea what I was doing and had to ask a worker there where to place it on the envelope. I understand that there are some things that are obsolete, but it just makes me really sad that we don’t use the same gear our grandparents did because of convenience. It’s like material things are always at our fingertips, but everything else is just drifting away.

I’m not saying that we need to have dinner together every night or that we should all try using typewriters because I understand that they’re not really necessary, anymore. I’m just saying we need to take a minute to remember what’s really important, like family and all of the other people we choose to surround ourselves with. We need to savor the things that won’t last forever  –  the time we have right now.