Maybe it’s age. Perhaps it’s new headlines every day spouting the ills of our world and culture around me. Maybe it’s the times they are a-changin…🎶

Today I woke up feeling in a bit of a funk. Never mind the sky is cloudy with rain–much needed rain–looming above…or that my first major task of the day was a dental cleaning which means “what surprises wait for me with that visit!”…it’s happened before with a routine appointment…”Oh, you need….$$$…(which DID happen today, but that’s not where I’m headed)

I woke up thinking, really thinking about how much has changed in my tiny world of existence from the 50s to present days in the 2000s which seemed like lightyears away and off in a twilight zone when I was a mere child in those 50s that had no color TV…no central air conditioning…no cellphones or cable networks…no Internet…one car in the driveway that was shared by two parents…

Many of my summer vacation days were spent playing outside. We rode bikes. Went to the park that was two blocks away. Swam in someone’s pool. Played with dolls…colored endless pages…cut out paper dolls under the shade of a tree…we even played made up games of “Army”, “Cops & Robbers” and heaven forbid in today’s culture “Cowboys & Indians”. The phrase politically correct was not in our vocabulary….we had toy guns, maybe a play set of a bow with arrows…sticks often served as spears or guns when one wasn’t in our toybox. Rules for play were always established and mostly followed. Someone was always in charge of planning how we’d play…and play we did. For hours. In the hot sun. We’d hide behind trees and shrubs…make forts of whatever we could scavenge from our parents garages. Imaginations were the primary source of play, taking the place of today’s many modern devices that seem to keep a lot of kids “inside” their comfy homes that now have all or most of  today’s modern conveniences, um, those things mentioned above that were non existent in my childhood. A cold drink of water from a garden hose  or a glass of  Kool-Aid was our main “go-to” for quenching thirsty bodies covered in sweat and sunburned skin.

Now, when I venture out for a walk through our neighborhood I rarely see children outside playing. Very few are on bikes for rides up and down the street. Backyards have swing sets or trampolines in them, but are usually empty. Pools are in some yards, but I rarely hear screams of delight even from those. I’ve often wondered exactly when kids go swimming in these beautiful pools sitting under the hot sun. Maybe it’s when both parents or another adult are home from work. And I’m amazed how many of our neighbors have not only TWO cars, but sometimes three and maybe a boat or RV parked in the driveway, too.

Our neighborhood has many large trees that offer beautiful cool shade. I use them to rest for brief periods of time when on my walks. I’ve never had to share a shady spot with any of the kids who live in the sub. I’ve never encountered a group of girls coloring or cutting out paper dolls while enjoying a cool breeze under a maple or pine tree…are paper dolls even a “thing” anymore? 

 Perhaps a fondest memory is the many conversations I had with my childhood friends as we sat on the lawn under the shade of a tree. We talked about how God created everything, from the blades of grass to the “stuff” that was used to build the Chevys and Fords our parents drove. There were no arguments that He didn’t exist…wasn’t real….that He could DO anything…our childlike faith was simplistic and united among those of us who were Lutheran, Baptist, and Catholic or Methodist…even the kids who didn’t attend church had caught on to believing in God. Maybe it was the summer vacation bible school programs that all the moms carted us off to for a few mornings to fill hot summer days and give them a break from all us kids….

So, today, my thoughts have wandered back to the 50s, slowly bringing a smile to my face, reminding me of more innocent times compared to our current culture. I’m also daydreaming about what the next 20 to 25 years will bring for me, for my own children and grandchildren. While they currently enjoy the benefits of our modern day age, I sure hope bikes, shade trees, and imaginary games are part of their summer time days…along with a good, long drink from a garden hose or the hospitality of a neighborhood mom who made a pitcher of Kool Aid….