Remembering Mister Rogers

The Kindergartener has been asking me a lot of questions lately about what it was like “way back” when I was little. She’s particularly concerned about the lack of technology in the late 70’s and early ’80’s, and she wants to know things like…

“Did people have to use typewriters back when you were born?”
Yes, yes they did. Back in the pre-digital era of my childhood, people still regularly used typewriters. 


“Did you not even have a computer?”
No. Computers were really big back then, so most people didn’t have one in their house until I was a little older. 


“If you didn’t have a computer, how did you have any pictures?”
Well, we used these things called cameras and film. 


“What’s film?”
Umm, it’s this little black roll of translucent paper that captured images. And, after you took several pictures you would take your canisters of film to a special store and drop them off. Then, you’d wait several days before you could go back and pick up your pictures. And, it was really exciting to see your pictures because they were always a surprise! 


And, with that, I pretty much blew her mind.

All this thinking back to my childhood has made me a little nostalgic about some of the things we did have during that time in history. And, one of those things in particular is being celebrated this month because yesterday, February 27, was the tenth anniversary of the passing of Fred Rogers of the beloved series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

I’m not sure I had a proper appreciation for Mr. Rogers when I was watching his show as a little girl. But, when I watch a clip of the show now as an adult, I’m almost instantly catapulted back to the couch of our den circa 1982. And, it’s an innocent, safe, pleasant place in time.

I can remember having Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on the television almost every afternoon. And, it’s not that I can recall all that much of the content of his show, but there was something uniquely calming about Mr. Rogers’ voice and demeanor. He was, without fail, kind and gentle and seemingly completely genuine. Whether he was singing the theme song, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” or sending the neighborhood trolley off to the world of Make-Believe, the show was elementary and predictable. But, the lessons were real. And, based on what the people who knew him have said and written about his life and character, Fred Rogers was the real deal, too.

I want my girls to know who he was. And, I think much of his wisdom on matters of life, love, children, and acceptance is pretty timeless.

“Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are gives us all the best opportunity for growing into the healthiest of people.”

“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.”

“Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.”

“If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to those you may never ever dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.”

This quote of his might be my current favorite:

“Parents don’t come full bloom at the birth of the first baby. In fact, parenting is about growing. It’s about our own growing as much as it is about our children’s growing, and that kind of growing happens little by little.” 

If you want to see a glimpse of his sincerity and humility as it contrasts with the glamour and glitz of Hollywood, this video of him receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys is moving.

Thank you, Mr. Rogers, for all you did for television, all you did for children, and all you did for me and my generation. You were a very good neighbor.

{quotes from The World According to Mister Rogers}