I remember hearing the standard line when I was a kid: “When I was your age, I walked six miles to school, uphill both ways, in the rain and snow…” The older generation likes to point out how much harder they had it, and now I am that older generation. When I was a kid, I had to look things up in books. There was no internet, no cell phones, no social media. Phones had cords, dodge ball was a P.E. unit, and I played in the street until dark.
I played, like the generations of children before and after me. Play was a fundamental part of my childhood, which was normal and happy by anyone’s standards.
My earliest memories of playing were in 1978, when the movie Grease was released. Together with my four-year-old sister and the boy and girl from next door, we played the album and re-enacted the songs from a movie I was probably too young to see. In later years I switched to cassette tapes, and I belted out the soundtracks to Annie and A Chorus Line. I spent a great deal of my childhood and early adolescence singing in my room.
One of my prized possessions was a navy blue binder filled with looseleaf paper, with the words “Songs” in silver glittered letters on the cover. The pages were filled with song lyrics, all of which I painstakingly recorded in my loopy cursive handwriting. I spent hours singing from the binder while standing in front of the mirror, wearing my dad’s old headphones and pretending I was in a recording studio. In retrospect, I marvel at the fact that not once did any member of my family bang on my door and tell me to stop hurting their ears.
This is probably how I looked when I sang; I felt like touching the headphones made me look cool. Just picture bigger hair and an off-the-shoulder sweatshirt.
While Amy and I had our share of fights, my little sister was my first and favorite playmate. I’m sure I was bossy and determined most of our games, but Amy was usually happy to play along. Most of the time it was pretend play, as we imitated what we thought were the exciting parts of being an adult.
Amy and I set up card tables in the doorways to our rooms, and sat behind them as cashiers. Imaginary customers would place their orders from the JC Penney or Sears catalog, and I would neatly write the item numbers and prices on my receipt pad. I had to press firmly, so the ink would go through the carbon to the customer’s receipt. I used the credit card machine from my Bargain Hunter game for added authenticity.
Sometimes we played store for real. Each of us would clean out our closets and desk drawers, and display our unwanted items on our beds. We visited each other’s stores, purchasing new trinkets and selling the old. It was strictly a barter system, but we still wrote out receipts for record keeping purposes.
We put on stunning variety shows, curtaining off the space under the basement stairs for our dressing room. I don’t even remember if we had an audience, but we had many costume changes and imaginary rave reviews. In 1982, we were obsessed with the Happy Days spin-off Joanie Loves Chachi, and recreated an entire restaurant and stage in the still unfinished basement. We turned an old bookcase on its side to become a bar, and served chablis by putting small pieces of yellow crepe paper in cups of water to turn it yellow. Amy and I took turns performing on stage for that always applauding invisible audience.
In between bouts of creative inspiration, I played with my Lite Brite and my Barbies. I traded stickers and practiced Chinese jump rope. Before wearing seat belts was mandatory, we spent car rides facing backwards, using the seat belts as guns to shoot the cars behind us. Eventually, target practice moved to the Atari console as I aimed for space invaders instead.
I know that I played board games and card games when I was a kid, but the memories of playing pretend and using my imagination are the ones that are the strongest, and the ones that make me smile. As I grew older, however, I gravitated to more concrete, less inventive pastimes. I preferred things that were black and white instead of gray, yes or no instead of maybe.
It’s funny how we put ourselves in boxes. I haven’t thought of myself as creative in a very long time. Even when I played with my own young children, I preferred board games to imaginary play. But as I write this and recall all the ways Amy and I invented our own adventures, I see the traces of that little girl. She sang into her mirror, I sing show tunes and love songs in the car. She loved writing sales slips on receipt pads, I make to-do lists in my planner. She played “yard sale” with her sister, I get a thrill from getting rid of crap. She performed for an invisible audience, I write a blog.
I guess I haven’t changed as much as I thought I have.
This post is inspired by the first prompt of the brand new Who I Am project – telling a piece of my story from my childhood. Link up here or with my co-host Bev if you wrote, and visit some others as well. Want to join in? Click the graphic below to receive the monthly prompt, and upon confirmation you will receive the prompt I sent in January.
I’ve been thinking about this for awhile now as an expecting mother…I can’t help but think how lucky our parents were . We DID play outside, and get creative, we had to! We didn’t have the technology to do anything but…….Man, I hope I can raise a creative child who isn’t glued to technology!
Good luck, Lindsay – it’s a challenge. There were no ipads and smartphones when my kids were small, and I’m thankful for that.
Dana,
I’ve been meaning to write a little diary of my childhood for my daughter and your post has, indeed, brought back a lot of memories and inspired me to pen down my experiences.
When we were kids
We did not have
Games simulating the outdoors
Indoors.
…..
When we were kids
We did not have
Barney to entertain us
So we would eat.
When we were kids
We did not have
Every facet of our life
Visually cataloged.
…..
When we were kids
We did not wear
Helmets and knee protectors
When riding our bicycles.
…..
When we were kids
We did not eat
Fries with tomato ketchup
And ice cream.
…..
When we were kids
We did not have a
Schedule for playing, eating, singing, dancing
And everything in between.
…..
When we were kids
We did not talk back
To our parents
Or question their directives.
…..
When we were kids
We did not have
Cell phones to text with
During family dinners.
…..
When we were kids
We did not need
Hallmark-created days
To appreciate those who mattered.
…..
When we were kids
We did not strain our eyes
On the computer, the television,
Or a gaming console.
…..
When we were kids
We did not go on
Planned trips to
Exotic locations.
…..
When we were kids
We did not shut the world out
With earphones
Attached to nifty iPods.
…..
When we were kids
We did not invite the world in
Via tweets and
Status updates.
…..
When we were kids
We led a simpler life
One with less stress
And even lesser external stimuli.
…..
When we were kids
We were happy
With one TV channel
And a shared home-cooked meal.
…..
When we were kids
We found contentment
In little things
Like building twig castles.
…..
When we were kids
We played until late in the evening
Unchaperoned and
Fearless.
…..
When we were kids
We waited for hand-me-downs
With excitement and
A sense of gratitude.
…..
When we were kids
We lived like kids
Uninhibited and
Innocent.
…..
When we were kids
We were just that —
Not little adults.
So true, Vedavati! Thanks for sharing.
You ladies are so on the ball! I haven’t even started writing for this prompt because it’s not quite the end of January yet and I work best under pressure.
Dana, I totally did the same thing with the Grease soundtrack, recreating the movie and pretending I was Sandy…and since my name is Sandra I really thougjt that made me and Olivia Newton-John kindred spirits.
Totally! I would have been so jealous of you as a real-life Sandy had I known you as a child.
I’m going to watch Grease Live next Sunday, but I know it won’t live up to my memories. I just can’t resist musical theater in any form.
I’m loving this prompt and people’s takes.
I grew up with four siblings. We really thought we had defined roles back then. Maybe in some ways, we still do. It’s also fun to reinvent.
My older sister was the ringleader in nearly everything we did – from watching movies to playing in the woods to getting into trouble.
All of us creative in our own ways, but some more known for it.
This was great! I love going back and finding little hints of the person I’ve become. I think when we pay attention, even in hindsight, those hints are there.
**I haven’t thought of myself as creative in a very long time.**
That sentence surprised me because of your writing and words and sentences and stories.
I mean, that is hard playing, darling! xx
I did play hard 🙂 It’s funny; I didn’t start thinking of myself as creative until I starting writing regularly.
I love children’s creativity and imagination. The last time my 4-year-old granddaughter was at my house, she had her mom, her two aunts, and me following her around the house as she directed us in her story. We were princesses, assigned to various imaginary princes (whom she would name for us) – we had to dance with our new “men”, sing songs together (that we had to make up on the fly), plan our respective weddings, trot back downstairs to check out the kitchen so that we could have a nice dinner with our princes, and finally we dressed up in all of our finery for the big wedding – which her uncle, dad, and grandpa were invited to (as well as hordes of stuffed animals). It was a blast!
Sounds fun and exhausting! I hope your granddaughter holds onto that creativity; she’s lucky she has so many adults who are willing to be imaginative with her.
I love this! I played with the credit card machines, too. My mom sold Tupperware, and I loved to get in her things and pretend to have a store 🙂
My mom sold Tupperware too! I still have a few of her old pieces in lovely outdated colors.
Well, first, I love these memories. I oddest’ feel like I have very vivid memories of childhood, but I do remember playing grocery store and playing with my dolls.
For some reason, I didn’t get the email, so I just signed up again! I fully intend to participate and hope to get something linked up this week. 🙂
I’m sorry something went wrong with the email, but I see you on the list now. Just make sure you check your junk/spam folder – we are both using gmail addresses and sometimes that sends email to junk. I have no idea why!
The linky is open until Feb 9th, so take your time!
Ohhhhh my sister and I used to ‘sell’ our old tat (bartering) for new, as well! I think I even still have some of the odd trinkets and bits and pieces, now packed up in boxes in my mum’s loft.
I love how happy your childhood sounds, and no, perhaps you haven’t changed much! I used to live very much in my head, so…no, that hasn’t changed 🙂
Ha – I think it would be a good place to live, in Lizzi’s head. My mom must have loved the money we saved her on buying new stuff; Amy and I just moved our crap from one bedroom to the other!
Some days more than others! I never thought of the money-saving angle! GENIUS!
(Gonna try to be in on your linkie prompt thing this year – it’s a great idea. Do I run out of time at some point?)
The linky is open until Feb 9th – so plenty of time!
My sisters and I would set up a shoe store and “sell” each other shoes from the box. I remember equally fun times playing outside until after dark and the freedom to run and play. What fond memories you have brought back.
I’m glad to hear that, Tammie. Shoe store sounds fun! My favorite part was writing receipts; I guess I loved to write even back then.
Love this Dana! And am SO pleased to see that the link-up will be open for a while as I think I’ve got most of a 1000Speak post done for today and really want to do this one. I love Fame and immediately went home and cut up some sweatshirts after seeing it. I didn’t have a sister but my brother and I would play for days with made up “Mother and David” (I was David, he was mother because I was bigger) shopping, M&D go camping, etc. Seems weird now but wow did we have fun!
I hope you’ll join in, Kristi – I purposely kept the linkup open for three weeks so there was no pressure to join right away.
I’m cracking up at Mother and David – sounds like the kind of pretend play I would have loved!
And I wanted to be Irene Cara, complete with legwarmers and ripped sweatshirt. I still kinda do…
This brought back so many memories! Our kids have no idea what a record is, much less the difference between a 45 and LP, and forget about cassette tapes. Those pretend shopping games are adorable. Love the creativity. What wonderful memories!
They really are! And I know there are so many more I didn’t think about. I’m sure my sister remembers.
Oh I enjoyed this walk down memory lane. So I see your love for “the stage” goes way back. That’s really cute. I LOVED Fame and wished there was something I could do at school like that.
I can’t remember right off what I “imagined up”. There’s a big age gap between my brother and I so I definitely didn’t have an inside partner.
I wanted to go to the school for the performing arts SO badly! But I sadly had no talent outside of my imagination.
So you never bossed your brother around and made him play what you wanted? My sister was pretty malleable until she was 7 or 8.
Oh my goodness! The more I learn about you, the more I realize we have in common! I sang all the time in front of the mirror- although I used a Barbie microphone – no head phones. And now, I belt out Shawn Mendes – only when my 13 year old isn’t in the car with me. I didn’t have any siblings, so imaginative play was a requirement for me – I played school, store, and doctor’s office. Stuffed animals stood in for students, customers, and patients. This is great fun! Thanks for hosting.
I would have loved to play with you when we were kids! I played school by myself too, and I remember my daughter lining up her animals and baby dolls as her own students when she was younger.
It was fun to be a kid, wasn’t it?
I think you’ve got a couple of years on me – my memories of the early eighties are clearer – but I remember much the same. We used to play school too. I was always the teacher.
Me too! And my favorite student’s name was always Beth. I had a gradebook and everything.
Wonderful post! Did you ever invite Dad or me to attend one of your performances with Amy? I’m sure I witnessed a few. Maybe that gene was carried on in our grandchildren as they put on many, many shows for all of us over the years whenever we all got together! Now that I think of it, I used to sit on my dresser in my bedroom and sing to Paul Anka’s songs – also using a make believe mike. Oh, maybe that gives me inspiration to write something in the Who I Am Project…
You should check out Mo’s A to Z post – that would be a fun way to write about your memories. And I’m sure you attended every once in awhile!
http://mocadeaux.com/my-childhood-from-a-to-z/
I really enjoyed reading your post as it took me back to younger simpler and more imaginative days. I recently had yet another conversation with Hun about how I never thought of myself as creative, but I’ve realized more and more that my creativity has been stifled for a long time. The freedom I feel with these realizations is definitely remarkable to me. 🙂
That’s great, Kendall! It is liberating to discover you had a talent you forgot you had.
Aw! I just love this, Dana! I used to sing sing sing and dance and ‘perform’ in my basement ALL DAY LONG to the SAME SONGS!!! I even used to lock my dorm room and belt out those ballads all alone. I think the other kids on my floor made fun of me behind my locked door. But for some reason, it was what I needed.
I haven’t changed much either.
I MUST get on this link up. I totally forgot about it despite your email being right in my inbox. Sigh…
Next time around. Next time. 🙂
The linkup is open for three weeks, Chris, if you feel inspired 🙂 Or just write for your kids, when you can. They’ll thank you for it!
So fun to read about your childhood. And I know what you mean about the imaginary play thing. I used to make up wild adventures as a kid, but now I would much rather color, read, or play board games with my kids.
I think my preference was because imaginary play has no definitive end. That’s horrible to say, but I just couldn’t take hours of eating plastic fruit and sipping invisible tea!
Great post Dana! I remember standing on a cedar chest in our living room, in front of hanging mirror, hair brush in hand – belting out my tunes! I also had a dance routine for every single song on the Grease (double!) album. Today, my daughter plays store when her cousins come to visit, and it is an elaborate production.
Oh yes, the double album! Twice the fun! My kids never played store, but there were lots of zoos set up in my basement.
You reminded me of my sticker book in 4th grade! Somehow sticker collecting at recess was all the rage for about a month, until they were banned when someone stole a giant fuzzy Dalmatian sticker.
Until a few years ago, I would have never considered myself particularly creative, even though reflection on my childhood I think I was extremely so. We just allow ourselves to be so open and free with our thoughts in a way that seems to be more challenging as an adult.
A sticker thief? How scandalous. 🙂
I agree with you about creativity – it takes more effort as an adult, but it’s still inside of us!
I can relate to so much of this too! Grease and The Parent Trap were my two most favorite movies and I would act them out with my friends over and over again. We sang our hearts out in my room while watching Madonna and Wham on MTV…back when they played only videos! Although I had an older brother we played so many games together and were ALWAYS outside and usually in the woods!!
Such great stuff here…now I need to write mine!
I recorded and memorized the entire Thriller dance sequence on MTV! Ah, Wham and Madonna…good times. Yes – write yours! The linkup is live for three weeks, so no pressure. Well, just a little.
Reminds me my childhood. We were in a extended family. All of my cousins used to set up a office room with the doc of our parents. Our elder sisters were our bosses and we were executives. We used a old broken phone for our communication at the office. Memories were too sweat. Thanks for reminding those past.
We played with old phones too – that must be a common childhood memory. Glad to help you reminisce a little!
Oh how I remember playing similar games with my sister. We’d set up an office and our apartment and “commute” between the two. Barbies were our life. Thanks to you and Bev for providing this platform to take a stroll down memory lane!
Our pleasure, Mo! Sounds like you had a wonderful playmate in your sister, just like I did.
How you brought me back and so much of the above sounded similar to the way I played as a kid myself. I never realized how much of an imagination I must of had, but still when I think back, I definitely did for all I conjured up and created to entertain myself back then. Still though, I had such fun reading your recollection here and can’t wait to add my own contribution when I link up tomorrow with you now 🙂
I forgot how imaginative I was, and once I started writing all the memories came flooding back!