My Daughter Thinks A New Roaring ‘20s Is Coming, But I’m Not So Sure

Out of nowhere came the killer.

It was a ruthless and malevolent virus that could take anyone at any time. In a matter of months, it had circled the planet, and people perished by the millions. Laws were passed making mask-wearing mandatory in public places, sparking culture wars between mask proponents and “mask slackers.”

Sound eerily familiar?

It should. While it sounds like the new normal we have been living through these past many months, I’m referring to the 1918 Spanish flu, which circled the globe just over 100 years ago, leaving more than 50 million dead in the wake of its devastating waves.

Laura Mullin's family is fully vaxxed, so as she writes, their plan is to live it up now because who knows what's next.

The Past Repeating

I first learned of the 1918 influenza pandemic as a child while living with my elderly great-aunt, Ella Mae. She was a young girl at the time and described frightening scenes of how the disease ravaged her hometown in rural Saskatchewan as family members, friends and neighbours perished. I remember thinking how terrifying it must have been. Yet, with a child’s naivety, I recall how reassuring it felt to know that modern medicine would protect us from ever having to endure such a devastating plague again.

"One day [my daughter] said, out of the blue: 'The Roaring 20s will be back, and it will be amazing.'"

Until COVID-19 hit, most of us had little awareness of the Spanish flu. As I grew older, I remember thinking how strange it was that lessons learned about global pandemics could be nearly erased from our collective consciousness. Maybe it was because we suppress painful history.

Or, maybe, with World War I ending and the pandemic subsiding, people were ready to move on and let the good times roll — and roll they did. The Roaring '20s ushered in a new day of social emancipation, sexual liberation and awe-inspiring innovation, the likes of which hadn’t been seen before.

My daughter has never been keen on history. Which was why I was surprised when one day she said, out of the blue: "The Roaring '20s will be back, and it will be amazing."

Does a return to normal mean a return to hugging? This family of non-huggers isn't so sure they're ready for their hug-free break to end.

My Daughter's Hope For A Fun Future

I wondered how she can talk about events that occurred a century ago with such conviction. Could my harping on the importance of history finally be sinking in? Or has it become a popular topic on TikTok? Somehow, she knows that people responded to surviving war and plague with a decade of celebration. And she believes history will repeat itself.

"She’s betting on a future where kids will be free to make up for all that has been diminished or denied."

She sees the next few years through a romantic lens of unfiltered exuberance, a natural response among young teenagers who have been robbed of so many days, friendships and memories. She’s betting on a future where kids will be free to make up for all that has been diminished or denied — a pleasure dividend paid in full after many months of missed educational and social experiences.

Like pretty much every other aspect of our lives, the pandemic has thrown a wrench into our best-laid parenting plans. At times it feels like the playbook has been ripped apart, and every day is a new experiment in adjusting to ever-changing realities.

“It’s the summer, and I haven’t been out all year. Why can’t my curfew be moved back a half-hour?” my daughter pleads. I struggle to strike a balance between allowing her the freedom to make up for lost time and sticking to our pre-pandemic norms and routines. When I talk with other parents, I find they're also struggling to find the right mix of discipline and freedom to help their children move through this time unscathed. Or at least to minimize the damage.

Vanessa Magic finds it awkward to ask fellow parents if they're vaccinated, but even with all this change, she's hopeful for a return to normal in the not-too-distant future.

Seeing Uncertainty In What's To Come

It's important to reinforce that my daughter’s generation is not alone in facing adversity. In this, my great-aunt gave me many powerful teaching moments. I recall sitting at her red Formica kitchen table, listening to her recollections, transfixed by her Yoda eyes, pale and blue as a winter Saskatchewan sky.

"Whatever the future holds, we may allow ourselves to occasionally feel discouraged, but hopefully never defeated."

I share the stories she told me as a child with my daughter. Of how she was born into the Great War and the 1918 pandemic. While the Roaring '20s offered a welcomed respite, they ended in economic collapse, the Great Depression, the rise of fascism and World War II. She survived it all and lived to a ripe old age with her optimism and life force intact. I remember her words as we arrived at the health care facility for treatment of the brain tumour that would soon take her life: “Well, we’ll just make the best of it.”

The important thing is not the breadth of the challenge — it is the depth of our will to rise to it. And now, with the new school year fast approaching, we have our fingers crossed that this year will mark the return to a more normal educational experience.

Having already endured two years of disruption, I am under no illusions. There may well be further pandemic challenges to overcome. Or perhaps the worst has passed, and the new Roaring '20s are indeed just around the corner. Whatever the future holds, we may allow ourselves to occasionally feel discouraged, but hopefully never defeated.

Together, we will make the best of it.