So very very true

Being a Mom, I see how easy it is to be caught up in the "shoulds" of parenting and behaving in an overprotective way. I do, however, think I tend to keep it in check and marvel at some of the parents out there who go overboard trying to shield their kids.

This, however, is coming from a Latch Key kid who watched a lot of TV, walked miles to the Mall and Public Library with my sister (only 14 mo older) when we were only about 10 or so, made our own breakfast before school, learned to do laundry at age 8, etc. But, I also had very loving (although young) parents and feel my upbringing was not one of neglect but one that made me a very capable and independent person.

Now, my mother, who had my sister and I at age 19 and 21 went on to have 2 more kids when she was in her 40s. She is now a grand offender of overprotectiveness and micromanaging, feels incredibly guilty for our upbringing, and has kids who are 16 and 18 who won't make themselves lunch.

I read this to my Mom and she said it was "cute" but I don't think she quite got it. I, on the other hand, can totally relate and think it is so true and speaks to the fact that modern parents need to be educated but also need to calm down a bit and let life happen. Life is too short to spend it fretting over everything. It's as if in modern times we no longer have to worry about just surviving so we make shit up to worry about.

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED BEING BORN PRIOR TO 1980!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.


They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered
with bright colored lead-base paints..


We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes,
we had baseball caps
not helmets on our heads.


As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.


Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.


We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.


We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight.. WHY?

Because we were always outside playing...that's why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on..

No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were OKAY.


We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps
and then ride them down the hill,
only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem


We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's,
no surround-sound or CD's,
no cell phones,
no personal computers,
no Internet and no chat rooms.


WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!



We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.



We ate worms and mud pies
made from dirt, and
the worms did not live in us forever.



We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.



We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.


Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.
Those who didn't had to learn
to deal with disappointment.

Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best
risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas..

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.


If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!

Skylar says..."It's Miller Time!"