Thoughts on The Good Ol’ Days?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about “the good ol’ days.”
I realize that ages me and makes me sound old, but I’m serious. I just keep thinking about the world I grew up in and the childhood I had. I played outside till my knees were scraped and black from all the dirt and grime. We played pretend till we couldn’t pretend anymore. We had no clue what an iPad was, what a cell phone was (except for those GIANT box CAR phones… that actually stayed in the car…), and there was no HDTV.
Sure, we had our own challenges, but life was just a whole lot less… complicated… than it is now. And my childhood was even more complicated than my PARENT’S generation’s childhood… if that makes sense.
I think about the things that I look back on fondly as a child… playing outside, enjoying time with family, reading through all my American Girl doll books, curling up on the couch watching T.G.I.F. (Sister, Sister! Family Matters! Full House! COME ON!!), Saturday morning cartoons… It was awesome. I miss that stuff so much.
And I think about today… there’s no T.G.I.F., Saturday morning cartoons, people are wary of letting their kids play outside… there’s just so much more to worry about these days. I can’t even let commercials play on TV or before YouTube videos without covering Lilly’s eyes! Who’s with me?!
I’m not an alarmist by any means, but we just have to realize that life is different for our kids. It’s different. Not bad, but different.
It’s just gotten to the point that I’m very aware of everything around me and everything that Lilly is exposed to and it’s made me grateful for the simple, wonderful childhood that I have. And I can only pray and hope that we can give Lilly that same sense of security and freedom as she grows up.
Am I alone here? What do you guys think? Do I just sound like an old curmudgeon? 🙂
The good ol’ days are definitely something I think about regularly. I miss those carefree days and wish that children could still enjoy similar moments like we did, the world has definitely changed. Xo, Stephanie
I think about the good ole days often, too! I actually wrote a somewhat similar post today, venting on today’s dating landscape. I spent nearly all of my childhood outside. My brother and sister are a lot younger than me and they do everything electronically. It blows my mind. My 2 year old cousin was using his iPad the other day to play games. I was thinking “send him outside!” He’s only 2!
I miss the good ole days every once in a while. The world I grew up in is much different than the world that my son is growing up in. I think I am in a little bit of denial about that haha! I think that needs to change so I can help my son learn right from wrong in the current surroundings. Great post!