I don't think I ever had a car seat when I was growing up. In fact, I think seat belts were not required. As kids we loved riding in the back of the pickup truck. And when I say, "in the back," I mean not in the cab but in the back bed! We were told to sit with our backs up to the cab and sometimes we would venture out and sit the tail gate at our backs. If you were really adventurous you'd sit on the tire bump. Soon you'd see your parents signaling you to sit back where you were told and we'd adhere to the request knowing at anytime they could stop that truck.
Parks were different then, too.
The swings had chains that seemed miles long. As a kid my goal was to get as high as I could to see if I could touch the leaves hanging from the tree branches. Parks of the past didn't have spongy floors to absorb wipeouts, but instead were dirt and gravel. Hardcore.
We came across an old school park in Seward the other day. You quickly remember how much fun they are. Those swings give you butterflies like no ones business and you don't need wax paper to go down the slides. There are no bolts holding the slide together so you don't get shocked on your way down.
Just look at that face of approval. You can fake that kind of glee!
We all went down the slides and swung on the swings. Laughter and squeals of joyous approval were all very much apart of these moments.
It brought flashbacks of me as a kid playing at a park like this. Vivid memories of sticky hands from eating ice cream bought from the ice cream truck, and being soaked in wet swimsuits after leaving the pool near by.
I bet this park has brought many years of kids squealing as they got tummy butterflies. The equipment didn't seem unsafe. Parents used to let their kids play unattended.
We were so happy that we stumbled across this gem. I'm happy to know my kids experienced a park in a different way. And as fun as it was, now that I'm a parent I'm glad that parks are safer. It was fun to step back into 1984 and laugh like a kid again!
No comments:
Post a Comment