When I was a Kid

No I did not walk up hill 5 miles,in the snow, barefooted to go to school. That just seemed like the appropriate title. You see, I have just read Andi's Ramblings and the story abour her nephews and children. These just happen to be my grandchildren. I laughed about the heat of the morning while they were at the Zoo. I know that it is hot and muggy in a city and especially so in an area where there is cement, pavement and trees. I live in the country and I spent that morning outside doing my thing because I would rather be outside than in.

Now....When I was a kid, it didn't matter if it was hot. After the morning chores(milking, separating the cream and taking my turn in the garden) I played outside. There was not any reason to go in. We had no television, no electronic games and guess what!!! We did not even have air conditioning. Oh we did have an oscillating fan about 12" across and we couldn't all sit in front of it so we just went outside.

In the shade of the trees or down to the river was a life of adventure. We had great imaginations and made games with so many things. Our toys were few, but we didn't miss them because we didn't know any better. On the farmstead,on a hot afternoon, we could play in the cattle tank. It was cleaned out each spring and was a great place to swim. I envied my cousins who had a big cement stock tank. It was a great swimming pool and was under a large tree. No sunburns for them. But the yellowjackets also liked the cool water and we had to be on the alert for them. Later when we moved into the nearby community on the river, we spent many hours playing in the waters. A river in Western Oklahoma is like a stream in many parts of the country. It was a great place for all of the kids though and I loved the adventures that we had there.

We knew better that to stay around the house too long as Mom could always find something to keep her bored children entertained. She also believed that we needed to be outside in the fresh air. She was even known to lock the screen door. That was the signal that we were to play outside unless it was an emergency. Would that be child abuse today?

Have a happy summer, Find a shade tree or a nice stream and enjoy it. Come to think of it, my Grandma's hammock was a special retreat when we were at her house. Do you think that I should buy one?