I Remember When...

I remember when I used to be able to go to a friends place down the bottom of my road after school and we'd play games on the street or inside and we'd have so much fun, because we didn't have a care in the world and time didn't matter. We just knew we had to be back in time for dinner, or before it got dark. Whichever happened first.

I remember when we weren't allowed to ride our bikes to school even though we about a 4 minute bike ride away.... well two and a half minutes because it was mostly down hill on the way there. And if we walked home, there always had to be about 3 of us walking together and we had to be aware of 'stranger danger' and know to look out for the 'safety house' symbol on mailboxes.

I remember when we'd done all our homework and eaten dinner we were allowed to sit down to the classic aussie soaps 'Home and Away' or 'Neighbours' so we could see what was happening with Scott and Charlene. Now, I'm too ashamed to admit I used to watch those shows... though, what Australian hasn't?

I remember when I used to play round robin sports on a Friday afternoon when I was in primary school and during the school week I always looked forward to that the most, because it was a time for one last bit of sports fun with my friends before the weekend came... and then we could have all the fun we wanted.

I remember when we used to lay a tarp on the grass in the backyard because there was the slighest hill and we'd spray it with water from the hose and then pour washing up liquid over it... then take a big run up and go sliding head first down our make shift bubbly water slide.

I remember when I didn't know what a computer or a Playstation or an X-Box was. We had Atari and Pacman rocked! And we knew that we weren't meant to sit there for 3, 4 or 5 hours at a time because it's not good for your eyes, it numbs your brain and you get no fresh air or excercise.

I remember when we tried to be sneaky and went into the neighbours underground cubby house in the big empty grassy land area out the back of our house. The land stretched for about 500 metres and everyone was entitled to be there, because it was a free, open space. But we tried to go into their cubby house and we got kicked out because we were in their territory... even though the land belonged to the city council. The underground cubby house has since been filled in with dirt over time, but if you look closely, there's still a little dip in the grass thats about 5m x 5m wide.

I remember when we used to ride our bikes down the same grassy area because it had a good gentle slope to it and we used to try and find any little crevasse so we could ride really fast and then jump our bikes over it and we'd go flying through the air. Ok, we weren't exactly flying and it was probably about 2 metres that we were airborne for, but for those fleeting nano seconds nothing else mattered. Then we'd get all the way to the bottom of the hill, turn around and pass the 15 or so houses that backed onto the spacious land as we hiked our way back to the top of the hill.

I remember when I used to find a rock in the front driveway and my younger sister and I would use it as a piece of chalk and then draw out the hopscotch squares and play for an hour at least. Or we'd take a piece of elastic and start jumping in and out of it until the elastic got too high and we couldn't jump anymore. And some days, we'd play tennis on the road and the game would often be interrupted by yelling 'CAR!' as the locals drove by.



I remember when we used to play in the front yard for hours, doing cartwheels, or playing chase, or throwing a ball around and we didn't have to worry about strangers or people watching us when they shouldn't have, because we lived in a good neighbourhood.

I remember when we used to play jump rope in the school yard or at home and we could skip that skipping rope for hours on end. Now, I don't think I could do the 'jump rope for heart' even if it was my own heart I was trying to save!

I remember waiting all week for Saturday morning to come so we could get up early and watch cartoons, because unlike the youth of today, we didn't have TV channel devoted entirely to cartoons and nor we were allowed to watch them before we went to school. But for those few hours on Saturday morning, it was well worth the weekly wait.

I remember when we used to go to our friends farm out in the country and we'd run around the vineyard or down the dirt road riding our bikes and playing hide and seek... all the while, hoping we didn't see any snakes.

I remember when my younger sister and I tried to set up a make shift lemonade stand. Only, we didn't sell lemonade, we sold home made mini flags. They were made out of material and we cut all sorts of shapes made with all sorts of colours together... and we sold them for 5 cents each. And when we made 50 cents because the neighbours felt sorry for us, we didn't care... we had 50 cents! Looking back, those flags were terrible... I can't believe we were so impressed with ourselves.

I remember when we used to put our gumboots on so we could go and splash in puddles in the rain on the road out the front of our house. Although we didn't realise that us getting sick was a burden on our mother, we always thought a play in the rain was worth catching a cold for.

I remember when we had sports day and our parents used to come and watch and we just hoped we'd win a ribbon to do them proud. Some years I got one of every colour - Blue, Red and Green. And sometimes I was more than lucky and got more than one of every colour, in either athletics or swimming. I still have my ribbons and trophies tucked away in a drawer.

I remember when we used to go to the 'Ekka' (our annual exhibition (hence Ekka) State Fair) and we used to ride the rollercoaster and the dodgem cars and every other ride we could until our heads spun and we had to sit down. And then we'd go and buy our showbags and have too much sugar and then we'd go on some more rides until we felt nauseous. We did this every year and yet we never learnt to not eat before having our bodies thrust every which way on a rollercoaster ride.

I remember when we went on school camp and we got to tell stories and drink hot chocolate. Then we'd stay up later than we should have, being all giggly and girly. Then there was the year 8 camp where we had to attend the 'garbage bag' formal with our dates whose named were selected randomly on a computer, but it was fun, because everyone was dressed up in colourful garbage bag dresses and garbage bag tuxedos. At that same camp, one of the activities the teachers had planned for us was to put the girls in one room and the boys in the other and we'd get 'the talk'. At least they threw in some kayaking and some rock climbing for fun!

I remember when I used to be able to ride my bike down the street and I'd wear that silly Australian orange 'stack hat' bike helmet that I thought would make me invinsible if ever I fell off my bike. It didn't make me invinsible... I still got scratched and bruised, but I'm sure the awkward looking bike helmet made people laugh.

I remember when we used to spend our Sundays at the beach at Bribie Island and the choice of the day was did we want to swim in the 'calmer' side or in the 'surf' side. We almost always chose the surf side, because getting dumped while body surfing a wave in the Pacific Ocean was far more fun than sitting in the shallow end of the water where there were no waves, but only ripples.

I remember when my sisters and I used to jump up and down on the trampoline for hours on end thinking that we could touch the sky. And sometimes, we overjumped and our legs got stuck inbetween the springs and it hurt, but we didn't sue the spring makers for our slip up. Once we stopped crying, we just got straight back on there and started bouncing around all over again.

I remember when iPods and MP3 players had never been heard of and were light years away from being invented. We barely knew what a tape deck was. And when we needed to play a song to hear it again, we'd have to press the rewind button and wait for what felt like ages for that one song to rewind on a tape. Or if you wanted to save the battery on your walkman, you'd take out the tape, stick a pen in the hole and start spinning it so you could rewind the tape manually.

I remember when we used to be able to eat whatever we wanted within reason and it didn't matter that the words 'Sugar content' or 'fat content' weren't written on the back of a label... because we were young and healthy and we used to play sport pretty much every day.

I remember when I used to 'walk like an egyptian', when I could do the moonwalk (not so well) and when I used to think I could win a fight with my sister if I took the Karate Kid stance and stood with one leg held up and poised my hands in that funny way.

I remember when we weren't allowed to stay at a friends place overnight on a Monday, Tuesday Wednesday or Thursday because it was 'a school night'. But Friday was my favourite, because that night was perfectly allowed.

I remember when I thought New Kids On The Block was the coolest band around and I was annoyed at my older sister because she was allowed to go to their concert, but I was still too young. But only by 2 years, Mum!

I remember when my younger sister and I used to play tennis on the front lawn and and we'd hit the ball on the brick of the house and hope we didn't hit a window. And then when we did, our mum would yell out to us to go and play out the back and then we'd say 'OK!'.... but we didn't move and continued playing out the front.

I remember when I had no idea what a mobile phone was, but I knew that a phone shouldn't be answered at the dinner table because it was rude and people should still believe in good values and manners. I still know it shouldn't be answered at the dinner table... and let this be a warning to you... if you answer it at mine, I'll show you the door!

I remember when I used to watch Fraggle Rock and My Little Pony and the Cabbage Patch Kids. My sisters and I bugged our parents for a Cabbage Patch Doll and one Christmas they finally came. I got the sporty one, because that was the one that was most like me and I raised my right hand and took the oath - 'I promise to love my Cabbage Patch Kid with all my heart....'. I have no idea where that doll is now.

I remember when I wished life would move faster so I could hurry up and grow up because I thought being an adult was cool, as they could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. But you never realised that it was actually the adult who envied the child. After all, the most responsibility you had was ensuring your rooms were kept clean. Now, I wish life would just slow down and that it wasn't so complicated and I didn't need to make all these decisions.

Some days I yearn for my youth. Most days I ache for it.

Life was a lot easier then. I just never knew it at the time...