Do you remember playing outside until the street lights came on? Or sliding down a metal sliding board at the peak of summer? Riding in the back of station wagons without the benefit of seat belts? Ahhhh, those were the good ol’ days. We were hard core. We survived! Too bad our kids will never fully understand those joys.
And here’s a list of other things they may never experience:
5. Recording Songs Off the Radio ~ I remember sitting there with my finger hovering over the pause button, desperately trying to avoid the DJ’s needless chatter. Seriously, he couldn’t wait til the end of the song to crack that corny joke? How many mixed tapes did we pass on to boyfriends and girlfriends that had songs that ended mid sentence? I remember trying to be slick and adding my own voice edits, like I was hiding something.
4. Metal Lunch Boxes ~ I had the biggest crush on Shaun Cassidy when I was a kid. I mean, I absolutely positively loved him. That hair. The smile. Those teeth. No one will ever understand the thrill I used to get from taking my sandwich out of my metal “The Hardy Boys” lunch box.
3. Writing Notes ~ I know it’s possible to write notes but kids today just don’t. I remember the first love note I ever received, it was hastily written on a sheet of paper at church, folded, and passed down the line of kids til it reached me. “Do you like me? Check yes, no, or maybe.” swoon A text message just doesn’t have that same feel.
2. The National Anthem ~ Back in the day, when we only had three TV stations, imagine that before the screen would go blank, they would play The National Anthem. Every time I heard it, I felt like I’d hit some “grown up” mark because I stayed up long enough to not get the jokes on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
1. Phone Slams ~ My sisters and I like to think that we invented the phone slam during an argument. Even if we didn’t start it, we certainly perfected it. You do remember the phone slam, right? You’re in the middle of an argument on the phone, you make your point and slam the phone down on the other person so they can’t reply. Oh there was nothing more satisfying than knowing that the other person was on the other end staring at the receiver.
What’re you sorry that your kids will never experience?
