Remember When…

When I was a kid we didn’t have computers, cell phones, huge color televisions with 200 plus channels to watch. We were lucky if we had a black and white set with 7 stations and we had to get up and change the channel manually. Imagine if our kids had to spend their whole summer without a computer, cell phone or 40 inch TV? What would they do? They are so plugged into these things that they are missing out on some genuine fun…

I remember being outside all summer, from morning till night, except for meal times. There was never “nothing” to do. A little chalk and a bobby pin and we had a hopscotch board on the sidewalk. If we got tired of that, we went to get a long piece of clothesline and used it as a jump rope. Everyone took turns jumping in and out singing “A My Name Is Anna” or “Bill and Hillary Sitting in a Tree.” When we done with that we went to get our roller skates, the ones with a “key” and clamps. The last time I skated I fell and scraped my knee so bad I gave it up. After skating we took out our yoyo’s, top’s, and hula hoops. Nothing was battery operated, we had to have skills and practice to do tricks with our toys. If we were lucky, and owned bikes, we would take those out to ride up and down the street. And, remember the Pensy Pinkie balls? They were great! We played handball, stoopball, punch ball with those Pensy’s and they really bounced! Some used them for stick ball, hitting them with a broomstick instead of a bat, as an alternative to baseball. If that wasn’t enough to fill the day, we would play “Iron Tag,” “Old Mother Witch, What Time Is it,” “Mother May I,” “Simon Says,” and “Red Light-Green Light,” all with no toys or props at all!

Sure we would take breaks for meals and every time the ice cream truck passed by, but there was no shortage of things to do. I remember laughing and having the time of my life every summer.

Of course, if I mention these things to my girls, they would not be impressed at all. Not unless someone figures out how to turn any of these things into cell phone apps, Wii games, or a reality TV show!