I’m feeling a bit nostalgic, reminiscing to when I was a little girl – how I stayed entertained in the sixties. This is when the memory box in my brain comes in handy…
My friends and I used to play school outside on the sidewalk in front of our corner house with three birch trees standing proud on the lush lawn. A big chalkboard took up a fair amount of sidewalk and they elected me to be the teacher. And when school became boring and brains tired out, we’d make a splash in my kidney-shaped pool pretending to be mermaids. How fun it was to dive deep and touch the drain or jump off of the diving board! Then we’d dry off on the grass while playing ‘Operation’ and eating tangerines from our tree. Nothing like trying to manage those surgical tweezers with sticky fingers to avoid the buzz!
When my son and daughter were little, they had a blast playing hide and seek with other kids on our quiet block. They loved riding their cool bikes and scooters. My husband and I also took them roller skating where we all tried our best to ‘roller dance’ to the upbeat tunes. Fun times had by children and parents!
Innovation is meant to bring convenience for the human race. I appreciate convenience, but with the good also comes the bad. Unfortunately, there’s an abundance of negative aspects to technology, such as with social media – not only for youth, but also for adults.
So, I miss the old times. When I wanted to talk to loved ones or friends, I picked up the phone and dialed. Remember rotary dialing? Then came push buttons. And what about those cords that coiled up like angry snakes? When cordless phones were invented, they brought freedom. I could walk and talk on the phone without worrying about the annoying cord dictating my whereabouts!
Families gathered at dining tables and chatted about their days, sharing highs and lows. My family participated in this routine every night for dinner when the kids were young. Even as they grew older (when their extra curricular schedules allowed) the tradition continued because Matt and I wanted them to feel like they could talk to us about anything. I’m thankful that communication has never been an issue with the four of us. In fact, many times we’re talking over each other because we all have something to say!
In those simpler times, friends used to hang out, talking and laughing. They didn’t congregate on sofas or around tables with heads down and eyes glued to screens, fingers tapping away. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok didn’t steal their loyalty. They actually paid attention to each other.
Children’s laughter used to echo down the street, swirling around the trees. Well, that laughter no longer flows in through the windows of my home like a joyful melody.
Where are the children? Are they tucked inside their homes, scrolling on social media? Could be.
This being said, I enjoy the screen as much as anyone. I’m sure you can assume that while I work on this post, a screen stares back at me. However, I think those simpler times were the best of times. Living without the option to blog and form the wonderful connections with you all would be missed, but I could easily live without social media. I’m grateful that my daughter and son didn’t grow up with cell phones until later in high school. Even those were flip phones, offering zero access to the internet. Besides phone calls, good old fashioned letter writing was the glue for staying connected. I still love sending cards and an occasional letter via snail mail.
I can only imagine how difficult it is to find that magical balance of letting your kids enjoy technology in their generation while also maintaining some semblance of control for their safety.
Do you find technology challenging while raising your children?
Do you remember the old days?
Do you miss them?
Below is a poem from my book, Ever So Gently, which ties into this topic:
Giggles
I can still elicit memories
of when our block teemed
with giggles
echoing in the distance,
the tapping of shoes on asphalt.
Remember hide and seek?
They’d take cover
behind bushes,
parked cars, corner fences.
But where are they now?
Where have all the children gone?
Giggles and footsteps
are silent, and yet,
not one for sale sign
sits in a front yard.
Perhaps, sneaky screens
stole that amusement,
those precious moments
spent outdoors
under the clear sky,
even in rain’s gentlest
sprinkling,
but weather, irrelevant,
the friendships mattered.
© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com – All rights reserved.
Cora’s Quest, a children’s book, coming in December!
Thanks for dropping in today!
Hugs,
Lauren ❤️
