Childhood Memories

Even in small rural communities like ours we are affected by the fear that has swept the nation for the safety of our children. Maybe it is the media that has brought all the horrible tragedies that can befall children into our homes, but even in our safe little town I see parents keeping close restraints on their children. They are driven to and from everything, organized into group activities that allow them to play in a controlled, supervised environments, and warned repeatedly not to speak to strangers, leave their yard, answer the door or answer the phone. Parents carefully screen the children theirs associate with and even the parents to be sure they are appropriate for their children.

Nothing brings this home more to me than remembering the unbelievable freedom that we experienced as children. We happily roamed the streets of our town in packs going from house to house with carefree abandonment. Admittedly, times were different then. Most mothers were at home during the day so there usually was a watchful eye scanning the streets and yards. However, they weren't watching for predators but for any pranks that we might be up to. Not much escaped them. It wasn't unusual for a mother to round up the whole group of us and design a punishment for us all on the spot. It might be scrubbing the sidewalk free of the less than desirable design we had lovingly chalked in, raking the yard of the debris we had strewn while making a village for our toys, or pulling weeds in gardens, washing dogs, or whatever jobs she could dream up to keep us occupied and out of trouble. No parent ever objected to their child's punishment, mostly because we weren't about to complain and admit what we had done to deserve it.

We all hit the door early in the morning and disappeared until mealtime. It was an unwritten rule in our house that if you didn't get out from underfoot quickly my mom would find a job for you. Needless to say we left as soon as our cereal was slurped down. We thought nothing of walking for blocks to see a friend or get to an activity. Some of us had bikes but if not we trudged along visiting and wandering along the way. Sometimes we would organize ball games in an empty lot (what has happened to all the empty lots?) or gather under a shady tree to play in the dirt. One of the favorite things for us girls was to tramp down the tall grasses and weeds to make "rooms" with connecting "halls" for our pretend houses. Those lots provided hours and hours of entertainment.

With all this freedom from supervision we learned a lot of valuable lessons. We learned that arguments usually ended when both sides got bored with the topic. Grudges weren't held, because you might need them on your side for Red Rover. Secrets were kept...period! You never abandoned a friend if he was caught and you got away. You went back and shared in the punishment. It was easier to get along with people than to sit on the sidelines and watch others play. Whining usually got you laughed at. Telling tales on people meant no one wanted to be your playmate. We learned that a little dirt wasn't bad but a lot of dirt could get you in trouble when you got home. We also learned that unless the bleeding wouldn't quit, you ignored scrapes and scratches and got back into the game. The lessons were sometimes tough. If you showed poor sportsmanship and cheated, lied, complained constantly about unfairness, took advantage of others, or ignored the rules, you simply weren't chosen for teams.

For all that today's kids have so many things that we did not have; tennis lessons, dance lessons, gymnastics, basketball camps, football camps, craft camps, field trips, movies, video games, toys and toys, I'm sorry they missed out on the long endless days of summer. When each day dawned with long, slow hours to be filled in any way we wanted. When the days ended when the street lights came on and signaled it was time to go home. When time moved at a slower pace.

It was a different world.