Remember When

©2009 begin with a Sunny Outlook

A ‘remember when’ list that we came up with from our memories of growing up in a time that just seems to have been an inviting time of simplicity. You’ll discover you have a ‘remember when’ list, too, if you take a moment and just reminisce. And don’t forget to share your memories with your kids!

Old-fashion tree swing

A CAN OF COFFEE WAS ACTUALLY a whole pound; You could go to the gas station and get about 3 gallons of gas for a dollar; You could buy a dollars worth of penny candy, and actually get 100 pieces; There was a ‘key’ with a slot, attached to the bottom of coffee cans to open the can;

Remember when... Milk came in glass bottles; You knew the milkman’s name and it began with ‘Mr.’; Larger size coffee cans made great home bases for games of Kick The Can; Big families almost always had a station wagon (yesterday's minivan); You were actually allowed to ride, sitting on the tailgate of a station wagon (fun yes, safe NOT!);

Clover was an acceptable part of the lawn; Kids could run across a neighbor’s lawn without the worry of lawn chemicals; Your dog could run and play along side you without having to be on a leash; It was very common for a bicycle to have a basket; It was commonplace for neighborhood moms to make sure all the neighborhood kids were behaving; Your mom always bought you a new pair of sneakers when summer started (which instantly gave you the ability to run faster and jump higher!); People would wear sneakers only during the warm months; People would wear an actual pair of pj’s;

Remember when... Candy and pop were a ‘treat’, not an everyday thing; Your parents and the local plumber actually knew each other; Trick-or treating began immediately after school was out and lasted long after it got dark; You could hop on your bike and ride to the other side of town and your mom wouldn’t have to worry about your safety; The warm weather came, and your mom would start hanging the laundry outside; Shampoo and conditioner came in glass bottles (thank goodness for plastic); Moms had the time to darn socks;

You actually were excited about camping out on the living floor: You would take a photo of your pets after you dressed them up in people clothes; As a kid, you would be the first one up on Saturday mornings and would watch cartoons and eat pop tarts; Cars were affordable; Kids used baseball cards clipped to the frame of their bikes to get a clicking sound when the rotating spokes would pass the card;

Remember when... You fell asleep listening to the sound of crickets, not the hum of the air conditioner; Push reel lawn mowers were more common; The wooden screen door slammed shut behind you (you never forget that sound); Moms got a new washer and dryer or a new refrigerator and kids played with the box in the back yard for days until it fell apart;

On your way out the door your Mom would yell 'Don't let the screen door slam', just seconds before it did; As kids, a weekend party meant having a root beer or red pop float; The milkman was a person you saw everyday in the neighborhood delivering bottles of milk in a metal wire carrier to the back door (for every Friday delivery, our Mom would order a bottle of chocolate milk - yeah!); You would have to go to a movie theater to see a movie.