Obsolete?

I have recently been thinking about things that used to be done in polite society, but are no longer.  At least not consistently.  This isn't a complete list.  Feel free to add more!

Hostess Gift.
Once upon a time, when someone went to visit another overnight, it was customary to take a gift for the hostess.  It didn't have to be much...just a token of thanks for the hospitality.  I don't think this is done anymore.  Too bad!  It was a nice custom.

Hankerchiefs.
Back when my parents were alive, if I happened to put on my mother's duster or my father's jacket, there was always, always a tissue in the pocket.  I used to laugh about that, but I understand it now.  My nose runs constantly.  My car, my pockets, my house all have tissues everywhere.  Don't remember my parents complaining about the nose thing, but they sure had the tissues!  In my parents' generation, men carried handkerchiefs in their pockets.  When Dad dressed, he put his wallet in his pocket, then his change from the dresser, then a clean hankie.  In fact, hankies were always on the list for Christmas and/or Father's Day presents.  When Kleenex tissues came along, more sanitary, etc., I think the notion of carrying a hankie became obsolete.  But for those of you who read this blog and know I am a huge Dr. Phil fan, it always touches me when he has a weeping guest, reaches into his pocket, and produces a handkerchief for him/her to cry in.  I love this. 

Aprons.
Back in the days when laundry was only done once a week, protecting clothing was a big deal.  I had play clothes and school clothes back then.  When I got home from school, I was to change into play clothes and play shoes.  I didn't see the reason for that.  My mother did.  She and my grandmother always wore aprons when cooking.  Mom had a "duster" that she wore to protect her clothes from grease and other splatters.  (Nowadays, we just use stain-spotters and throw the stuff in the laundry.  Oh, how things have changed!)  I don't own an apron.  If I splash on my clothes, I just make sure they are pre-treated and throw them in the laundry.  Thanksgiving is an example of that.  I was pulling meat off the turkey carcass when a piece jerked off the bone and splashed grease all over my shirt.  After laundry, the shirt is back to normal.  :)

Social Courtesies.
Oh yeah!  This is going to sound a bit sexist, but it is what it is.  These days, it seems to be "anything goes" for language and other rights of free speech, etc.  Still, it should be about respect.  I don't need someone to open the door for me.  All I want is for people to respect each other enough to love them for what they are. Nothing is ever what it seems.  I cut someone off on the road 33 years ago.  I didn't do it on purpose, but because my then-husband gave the other driver "the finger" from the passenger seat, we suddenly became the target of road rage.  It got scary.  Had the other driver been in the car, he would have understood.  He wasn't.  Is it no longer fashionable to give another person a break??  (My ex sure didn't help things.)

I am so thankful for all that I'm given.  I live in the Transition Generation...between the Greatest Generation and the Me's.  I've been around long enough to see how things have changed from my mother's struggles to keep a house together to the digital age.  God bless those who have gone before.  They paved the way for the rest of us to have it so easy!!