Friday, August 26, 2011

Are you getting old?


So, my birthday was Tuesday.  Yay!  I feel blessed to see another year and I had a good time with friends and family on Saturday, but I can't help but feel....old.  Don't get me wrong, I'm blessed to see another birthday, let alone another day, but I find myself wishing for days of old.  Here are some reasons why:
  1. When I turned 7, I couldn't wait to get to the corner store to stock up on Lemonheads, Boston Baked Beans, and Big 'Ole Freeze Pops.  My son will never know about going to the corner store because we don't have one.  And if we did, there is no way I would let him walk to the store by himself to get anything.  Not to mention, those old favs had so many carbs and were so bad for our teeth, I would probably get spanked by the 'Mommy Police' for letting my son indulge in too many treats.  But I had so much fun back then.  I long for the simple times. 
  2. When I turned 11, my favorite movie of all-time was released:  The Color Purple.  I was engrossed in the Original USA for Africa version of "We are the World".  I would also love to watch Saturday morning programs on Channel 4 like The Smurfs.  My 11 year old daughter only knows what a Smurf is because of the movie released in theaters this summer (which I still haven't seen yet, but want to).  Cartoons were simple.  Tom and Jerry or He-Man were the norm.  Now, I can't even pronounce some of the shows being watched by the children of today.  And what's with all these teen shows about dance teams and music groups? 
  3. When I turned 13, I was listening to Michael Jackson's "Bad" and watching Dirty Dancing.  Michael Jackson was my all-time favorite.  I loved him and "Bad" was actually a song that had a deeper meaning.  My son, who is thirteen, gets to listen to some questionable songs with no meaning whatsoever. 
There are times like these where I long for those times:  Break Dancing on cardboard boxes, songs with meaning, sugary treats for $.01 a piece, movies with a heart, and the innocence of youth.  I only pray that my children can look back on their childhood with the same fond memories that I have from mine. 

What are you favorite memories from childhood?