and early 1970s — elementary educa-
tion. A kindergarten teacher in the
Birmingham district, Didi felt more
support from her parents and the rest of
society in going with the flow than in
choosing a path of greater resistance.
"I don't think there is that designated
path that there was. Then, you went to
college, got married, put your career on,.
hold while raising kids. That is what
you did," she says. "Now, the opportu-
nities are infinite, especially for girls.
They weren't infinite then. Teaching,
nursing, social work. That was it."
Didi says her son, Flint, grew up
knowing whatever decision he made,
she and her husband, Steve, would sup-
Port-
"As parents, we are more supportive.
We trust his maturity," she says. "I don't
think that our parents were like that.
Our parents wanted us on the 'right'
path."
But with greater choices come differ-
ent challenges. Greater equality for
women in the past 30 years has left the
younger generation with more choices,
less-certain outcomes and, in general, a
society that has all but chucked the gen-
der norms in all aspects of life from the
domestic front to the workplace.
"It is not black and white," says Nira
Lev, a Hebrew educator who is the
mother of two men, aged 28 and 31.
"The world today is a lot more sophisti-
cated, a lot more complicated than it
was when I was their ages. You knew
what was expected of you."
Another veritable revolution that has
taken place since the days of Kent State
and sit-ins has occurred on the technol-
ogy front. Greater accessibility to rela-
tively recent innovations such as the
microwave oven, cell phones and other
technology has made for a faster, more
efficient and, at times, cleaner world.
"Kids now are much more global in
their perspective to life because they are
exposed to more now than we were,"
says Didi. "Because of this, I think they
have a broader and better sense of their
goals."
And a somewhat easier life. Natie
Reinstein, mother of a set of 23-year-old
fraternal twins, recalls spending hours at
the Detroit Public Library, combing ref-
erence materials for a few facts.
"Today, these kids don't have to leave
their bedroom. They have access to all
kinds of material on the Internet," she
0,,
•••••-
says. "Many of them don't know how to
go to a card catalogue and look up a
book. Maybe I am jealous."
Yet some parents see the very tech-
nology that simplifies life as adding a
layer of complexity. Competition in all
areas — from high school, where access
to a computer translates to good grades
which in turn may mean entrance to a
better school, to the working world,
where carrying a cell phone means
being accessible at all times for clients
who would otherwise go elsewhere —
has intensified to historic levels. Back
when the Web was something a spider
wove and car phones were for the rich-
and-famous, downtime was greater and
life was simpler.
"There was downtime then. That is
the difference," says Natie, referring to
daughter Mara, a 23-year-old journal-
ism major at the University of Missouri.
About to graduate, Mara has assembled
an impressive resume of internships dur-
ing her summers.
"I remember when a summer job
• meant being a camp counselor. Now if
you don't have a stack of internships,
you're dead," says Natie. "That's
rough."
❑
tot': 4*4 •
HAPPENINGS
Say farewell to Seinfeld at the fir
Scene ' party! Wednesday, may 6,
at _JD's Key Club in Pontiac. 8
p.m.; $1 cover, $1 off drin.ks. For
information, call (248) 354-6060,
Ext. 307.
Sign up now for the first B'nai
B'rith Leadership Network g o
league. Sunday tee times, at Cci'
per Creek. Cost: $300. Also,
up softball games, with B'nai
B'rith Leadership Network. Sun-
days at 11 a,m, Call Mike Kahan
(248) 398-2691,
Friday, Apt -24
Young Adult Shabbat Service. 7:30 p.m.
At Adat Shalom Synagogue, Farming-
ton Hills. (248) 851-5100.
SaturiaN API' 25
Race for the Cure, with B'nai B'rith
Leadership Network. 9 a.m. Michelle
Hubert, (248) 661-7815.
Monday, April 27
*44
New location for the Young Adult Divi-
sion bar night! Meet at Dick O'Dow's,
160 W. Maple, in Birmingham. 8:30
p.m. (Ages 21-35). Marc Berke, (248)
203-1458.
Tuesday, April 28
\ _
o say that thin
changed a bit from
days of Vietnam, Studi
54 and Brooke Shields'
Calvin Klein Jeans is an understate-
ment.
But members of a generation that
straddled the bridge between follow-
ing traditional paths of courtship
and bucking conventional relation-
ships find that being single in the
'90s has hurdles of its own that they
wouldn't wish on anyone, particular-
ly their sons or daughters.
Take sex, for example.
Sure, sex still works basically the
same way. Individual meets individ-
TheY socialize, have a few dates
and, in the best of scenarios, agree to
the act without any major repercus-
sions such as pregnancy or venereal
disease. And yes, some advancements
in the treatment of sexual scourges
(i.e. check out the disclaimer-laden
Hillel of Metro Detroit Yom
Ha Zikaron program. 7 p.m. At the
Maple/Drake JCC. (313) 577-3459.
ST
nogam f us
cidal place to
"The scene is definitely s'
than I remember it being at that
age,' says Didi Wainess. "I nieig4
you can die."
Marriage, the end of the single life
for most, is no longer a predictable
thin.g, either. While most men and
women married in their early to
mid-20s two decades ago, the medi-
an age is higher for both men and
women, as career and personal goals
are pursued before reaching the
chuppah.
A licensed therapist, Janice Tracht
views the shift in marriage age as a
positive thing.
Wednesday, April 29
'V4g.V'Et.t 4 1
ai6t
to
what he l
you aral; a:so
" you know
tocomro:s
wha t
says Jake`
takes. or
better relationship.
But Natie Reinstein, a high school
teacher and mother of three, attrib-
utes the demographic shift to one
thing: laziness.
'Nobody W2111S to take the
responsibility for a relationship.
There are all of these terrible things
out there, but it doesn't make them
commit any earlier.'' Cl
— Jill Davidson Sklar
AIDS 101: Fast facts, mixers and
munchies. 7 p.m. At 7255 Danbrooke,
West Bloomfield. Sponsored by B'nai
B'rith. Leadership Network and Michi-
gan Jewish AIDS Coalition. Michelle
Hubert, (248) 661-7815.
Fiiday, may
Young Jewish Humanists lunch: the real
history of the Jews. 12 p.m. Cost: $5.
(248) 477-1410.
Saturday, May 2
Wine and dessert reception, with
JEMS, Temple Israel's singles group. 8
p.m. At Temple Israel. Cost: $36 in
advance, $50 at the door. RSVP to
Susie Leemaster, (248) 661-5700. -
4/24
1998
91