I miss the old days

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 3^rd 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.