I used to fear for my kids’ happiness. While I tried to keep them grounded and teach them to love life and make simple memories, society roared at them that “stuff! things! more!” was the only way to be happy. I was sad for them to grow up in this world. I grew up in an idyllic world. It was the late 1980s…be
We were a family of seven, with my mom staying at home with us kids and my dad trying to keep a fledgling new business afloat. We had a barn full of animals to feed year round, plus extras during spring and summer for 4-H. Needless to say, there wasn’t a lot of money floating around, nor was there ever much “extra.” We drove older, used cars and wore a lot of hand-me-downs. When I look back now, I realize that my parents probably struggled to pay bills and feed all those mouths.
But I loved my childhood. I loved it then and I love it still.
Each summer day, my mom would watch any of my friends who needed “babysat.” Most days, we played in the woods or at the creek at our house. We ate simple lunches or drank from the hose and munched out of the garden if we didn’t come inside for food. But one or two days a week, we would pile 10 or 12 of us into our van, sharing seat belts (yes, we did this back then), and go to my grandparents’ pool. We would swim and laugh and play all day. When it was time to leave, we’d get a popsicle from the freezer and then the very best thing happened: mom would take us to Taco Bell and let us get a bean burrito and a water. Burritos were about $0.69 back then and the water was free. A drive-thru burrito and some water. Heaven. A few more days at home, and then burrito heaven again. And that was how the summer went. It was so simple and so magical.
It doesn’t sound like much compared to what kids today have.
Kids now visit Kings Island regularly and eat out more than at home. New technology just follows them everywhere. Everything is catered to them, to keep them happy, to keep them entertained. And I feel sorry for them. I feel sad that they will never understand how a burrito and a water were the best part of my childhood. My friends still talk about how awesome our summers were. And every single one still loves the “burrito-day” memories we made.
I wanted my kids to have (some of) what their friends and the kids at school had. I wanted them to get to share in that part of childhood. But most of all, I wanted them to make burrito-day memories that they would remember as fondly as I remember mine.
My kids are 18 and 20 now; no longer kids. I spent their lives working so hard on creating whimsy in everyday life, striving for those perfect childhood opportunities, that I forgot how easy it is to make memories with those you love. Their favorite memories from growing up aren’t $0.69 burritos, but instead lawn games played on a summer night, sitting by a bonfire eating s’mores, and playing board games as a family.
