There are days
– more often than not, sometimes - when I miss being a kid. Not that I’d
want to go back and do all THAT again, but I miss the simplicity of things and
the safety of knowing Mom and Dad had things covered. The other day, I
actually caught myself saying the words, “Back in my day…” to my 15-year-old
daughter. It still cracks me up when I mention a singer, actor or other
artist that was “famous” “in my day” and she responds with, “…Who?”
Whaddya mean ya don’t know who ‘Hall & Oates’ are?!?
The other day,
I got to thinking about all the things from “my day” that are so different or
even nonexistent today. Technology and innovation have raced forward so
rapidly, the things we thought were so cool are now obsolete. I remember
thinking that the 20-foot chord on the phone attached to the wall was great
because I could walk all over the house and still talk on the phone! Now,
a lot of people don’t even HAVE a home phone because their cell phone is their
primary connection to the world. And what about those cell phones? Remember
when computers took up entire buildings? Hand-held, wireless talking
devices were the stuff of old sci-fi movies! Now, if a 3rd grader
doesn’t have a smart-phone, it’s “unusual” and we’re asking THEM how to work
our new electronic devices!
Even food is
different! I miss the good ol’ days, when no one had a clue what ‘gluten’
was. It’s amusing how we say ‘vegan’ now, instead of ‘eating
disorder’. And kids today have WAY too much power. When I was
a kid, “Keep it up and you’ll go sit in the car” was a valid threat. Now,
you’d be arrested for such an act. Those brats that cry and fuss and
scream and kick in the grocery store are met with, “Now, honey, let’s use our
inside voice.” Boy, when I was a kid, if you’re gonna scream like that,
you better be on fire with a stick in your eye.
Growing up, I
always thought that quicksand was going to be a much bigger problem than it
turned out to be. Today, kids have to worry about bigger things like
cyber-bullying and not being able to walk home alone when they live two blocks
away because it’s dangerous.
Games are
vastly different now too. It's a little sad that today's youth don't get
to experience a red rubber dodge-ball to the face. Remember the
Tamagotchi? It used to be the greatest virtual pet ever. We loved them,
we listened to their tiny electronic screams of malnourishment, and we
occasionally forgot to pick up their poop for long enough that they died a
tortured, poop-filled death. Now the kids are playing games on their
phones like “Subway Surfers”, “Temple Run” or the myriad of games available on
FaceBook.
Don’t get me
wrong – I love technology and innovation. It’s really amazing to think
that we have lived in 2 centuries and seen the turn of a millennium! But
I sometimes wish things could be as simple as the days of Little House on the
Prairie. I do love running water, though.
For now, I find
myself just hoping that FaceBook is going to stay the only social media site
because I know how it works, I have friends I’ve reconnected with that I thought
I’d never hear from again, and I JUST got my Dad signed up! You know
what, though? I bet that’s what everyone thought about
MySpace!
Want to tell me
what you think? Send me a text, message me on FaceBook or do it the old
fashioned way…email.