Those Were The Days....

When colors didn't necessarily have to go together to be considered fashionable.

When holding hands with my sister was the norm, no matter the age.

When hairstyles "made the outfit".



When pin the tail on the donkey was a popular game to play at the party.

Where my twin sis and I shared a birthday cake, birthday presents and pretty much shared everything together. And you know what? We didn't mind sharing.

When punch bowls were the rage instead of juice boxes and sodas. When we were little, we very rarely were allowed to drink "pop" and if we did get the privilege, it was shared, one "pop" between us.

When every guest was thanked individually for coming and also for their gift. The joy of the party was in being another year old. My sister and I were always shy so when it came time for them to sing Happy Birthday to us, we almost dreaded it. Being the center of attention wasn't our style!



When plastic on sofa cushions was "in".

When your legs would stick to the plastic on the sofa cushions.

When green shag carpet was coveted and raked religiously.

You know, there are times when I long for those simple times when my mom would make popsicles with the Tupperware popsicle maker.

Pick up sticks and jacks and Chinese jumprope and hopscotch was fun and entertaining.

Girls and boys played together and it meant nothing but that we'd have a ball. The boys were always told to not be so rough with the girls. The boys LISTENED and weren't rough.

There were many times when we went camping that building a nest out of pine needles and pretending to be a bird was "fun". Or, waking up to the smell of bacon cooking over an open fire smelled delicious.

I miss the times where as a family, we watched tv together, in the "den". We would watch Truth or Consequences, Queen for a Day, The Flip Wilson Show, Hee Haw, Roller Derby and Let's Make a Deal.

Even though times were tough and money was scarce, we didn't mind keeping our socks up with rubber bands or sharing a stick of gum or wearing the same Easter outfit two years in a row. We recognized our blessings of having when so many didn't. What we did have, we cherished.

I miss playing board games with my family...Sorry, Aggravation, Monopoly and Match game. Even when the tv video game Pong came out, my parents set limits on how long we played and we didn't complain about those limits because we loved to be outside anyway.

I think about how manners were so very important back then. In school, the teachers were highly respected. To act up meant the deepest consequences...a paddling or a swat. At home, we always asked to "be excused" when we were done eating. We were expected to eat all of our food, even the stuff that was "nasty". We had chores and they were expected to be done or else.

When I look back to simpler days, I see innocence. There was very seldom the fear of being kidnapped. I remember sleeping on the front lawn with my older cousins in sleeping bags on a hot summer night.

When I look at kids now and parents, gone are those days with so many families. It's like they forgot just how good it really was back then and you know what? It's sad!

What do you remember about the good ol' days?