Jennifer Mata

FHS 2400
IRE #14
Older Person Interview: Sit down with an older person (Grandparent type) and ask them to talk about
the positive and negative aspects of family life in the "olden" days. Some interesting areas to explore
might be the role of women in the family, views on the child's role in the family, the family's view of
divorce and divorced people, their perceptions of people who chose to stay single, or any other topic that
seems pertinent. Summarize your conversation.
I loved doing this IRE, hearing older couples stories of how they met and what their life was like
has always been one of my favorite things to do when I worked at a care center. I interviewed an older
couple that came into my work because the husband had fractured his collar bone from falling. They were
in their 80s and still loved at home alone together. The wife, Bev told me that if she had gone into any
type of career when she was my age it would have been nursing. She said that it was very rare for women
to go to school and get a degree because it was supposed to be the men going to work and bringing home
the money while the women stayed home and raised the children. Bev said she thought she was going to
be the exception and wanted to finish school but ended up getting married when she was 18 and had her
first child at the age of 20. She said that she ended up being the typical mom that stays home while her
husband would go out and work. They told me that never once in 60 something years, did they even think
about getting a divorce. I have always loved that quote that says something along the lines of in the olden
days, people didnt just throw something away when it was broken. Bev really emphasized this for me,
she said that communication was what kept them together and solved their problems. Even now, they
disagree on things but never enough to give up on each other. Personal commitment is more a product
of love, satisfaction with the relationship, and the existence of a strong couple identity (Strong & Cohen,
2014, p. 300).

References:
Strong, B, & Cohen, T. F. (2014). The marriage and family experience: Intimate relationships in a
changing society (12th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.