(Theme – reminiscing about things from my past)

K is for (being a) Kid

I know, I am cheating again but since this is a forum for remembering my past, what better way to explore than talk about being a kid? I know some people say child instead but I’m always saying “kid”, as I do have three of them and raising them always prompts memories from my past too. So here are some thing I really miss about being a kid.

Arcades. Sure, some places are trying to bring it back but they’re also bars and serve food. Arcades were made nearly obsolete by home gaming consoles but nothing beat standing in line with your stack of quarters and challenging a stranger face to face.

The lingo of the 80s. Sometimes I get so sick of hearing my kids say “Bruh” or “Sus!” But I remember how silly the 80s were with “radical”, “tubular” and “grody”, etc.

Watching soap operas with my mom. I can’t really get into them anymore (plus I work all day) but there was such a good feeling I got from them. Some of it came from the aesthetic, the theme songs, and from the fact that the themes were more mature than what I should have been watching. But my mom let me and that made it special. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6mokRv4IY4

Actually writing. I wrote notes to my friends, wrote in a journal (ok, I do still do that) and I just enjoyed that way of communication. Now, I am not against our new tech for this – I love texting on my phone same as anybody – but there was just something about a hand-written note.

This one is two-fold: Eating fast food and fast food restaurant playgrounds. When I was a kid, I never thought about healthy eating. In some ways, I subconsciously knew my mom was watching out for me. She made very well-rounded meals. Always a protein, a starch, a vegetable, and a bread. But when we got to at McDonalds, it was a real treat. The feeling of not caring about the unhealthiness of a meal is something I can never get back. I will never look at that kind of food the same ever again. And add onto that how fun the playgrounds were too!  

The smell of grilling and the times when my dad did it. I don’t know why it’s different now or when my husband does it but when my dad fired up our charcoal grill and made stuff like country style ribs, I was in heaven. Plus, I remember playing outside under a huge lime tree while he came in and out to tend the food so it strikes a chord.

The style and atmosphere of living in South Florida. I loved the mid-century style of houses, the palm trees, the wide avenues that circled every so often. I loved how if you went East on Hollywood Boulevard, you’d end up at the ocean.

That feeling of being stress-free. What did we even worry about as kids? Not running faster than a class mate? In my teenage years, it was dumb petty friend crap but none of it was important. I just miss being able to go outside and run around and have fun. Adulting is hard.