Interview with my grandparents

My grandparents live in Gunma prefecture. My grandfather is 74 years old and my grandmother is 70 years old. I asked them about when they were children.

   They washed clothes with a tub and a washboard. They used a broom to clean their house. They heated the bath with firewood and fire. There was a well near their house. There were lights, but there were frequent power failures because electric poles were made of wood and electric wires were prone to break. And it took much time to restore power once we had lost it.  

 Grandfather raised goats, sheep, chickens and so on. He milked goats and drank it. He sheared sheep, sold the wool and got clothes. He got some egg from chickens. Also, he went to a mountain, cut down trees, made charcoal from those and sold it.

 Grandmother is the oldest other six brothers and sisters. So, she took care of them. At that time, it was common to have many brothers and sisters. But I have no brothers or sisters.　I wish I had some brothers and sisters. But I think it is trouble some to take care of young children.  　

　Hearing about these things, I feel there are many differences between now and old days in daily life. In old days, the amount of electricity used wasn’t much because people did washing and cleaning with their own hands. But, it took a lot of time to do such things with their hands. Also, now, we almost always buy the things which we need. But, in old days, people made the things they needed. Through passage of time, I think people’s way of thinking has been changing. 

 I think the world really became convenient in the past several years.