Back in My Day…

What ever happened to the simple things? Yes, I have become one of those people that asks that question, and says things like “back in my day” and “the good ol’ days”. I accept that I sound ridiculous when I say these things [I’m not even 30 yet]. But that is how I feel. I feel that the good days are long gone, simplicity has been trumped by “smart” technology, and my kids will never the know the beauty of simple joys of the 90’s like we did.

“Back in our day, we’d spend hours just playing outside. You’d have to drag us in.”

I grew up hearing statements like this from my parents, and other elders of our family and community, when they became nostalgic of their childhood. And I realize now that, every generation feels this way about the coming generation. All of us feel that we had a more simpler and special childhood, and this will probably continue with every new decade.

What are some of these simple, good things that I miss?

I’d like to share with you one of the things that I miss dearly about the 90’s. I distinctly remember looking forward to Friday nights for two reasons. Firstly, we would sometimes be lucky enough to eat outside food. We were not a luxurious family that ate out often, it was on very rare occasion, mostly pizza when we were out on a road trip. But sometimes, we were lucky and we got to order Chicken Holiday (our fave), which was the one and only restaurant serving up [halal] fried chicken, biscuits, and fries–every kid’s dream. And the second reason was, after picking up our take-out, my father would take us to Blockbuster. I highly doubt any 90’s kid reading this post is unfamiliar with what Blockbuster is, but for those of you who don’t know…Blockbuster was a franchised DVD rental store [well in my day we had VHS], and the place to rent movies from. And it was also every kid’s dream to go in and choose a movie from the “Newly released” section. I can’t explain why it was so exciting, it’s just one of those things that you need to experience as a child. Sadly, blockbuster was taken over by none other than netflix and redbox, and the chicken holiday closed down, and so two more things of my childhood have dissipated into the past.

Now, I have asked some fabulous bloggers to share with me one simple thing that they miss about their childhood, and I received some wonderful responses that I wanted to share with you…

“I miss playing outside during summer; whether it was running through a sprinkler with my sister or playing Skip It solo. My parents didn’t have to force me away from electronic devices, I legitimately wanted to go outside and be active.”
Jessica Journey With Jess

“Playing MASH to predict who you would marry, where you would live and how many kids you would have.”
Michelle Confessions of Parenting

“When I think of my childhood in the 90’s, I can’t help but think of all the amazing TV shows. There was Hey Arnold, Recess, Tots TV, Fun House, Fireman Sam, Noddy, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch”
Laura Autumns Mummy Blog

“The front door being unlocked or key left laying around!”
Katie Living Life Our Way

“I miss the freedom of going to knock for my friends, playing out until dinner time at 6pm and good ol’ grounding if you missed curfew!”
Amy The Smallest of Things

“I used to love watching Fun House when I was younger – I mentioned it to some younger colleagues and they had no idea what I was talking about 🙈
I felt like I aged about 20 years in those few seconds!”
Erica The Little Bargain Hunter

“I remember a lot more playing outside with your friends, using your imagination, less channels on TV to choose from and obviously great fashions ”
Sarah Digital Motherhood

“I loved how all the kids looked out for each other. The older ones looked out for the younger ones and we were all fine. We also used to walk ourselves to and from school from a young age. You aren’t allowed to do that now. Has the world really got that more dangerous?”
Cassie Gorgeous Georges Mama

“Writing letters to penpals abroad, playing outside whenever we wanted, walking to the shops on our own to buy PENNY sweets, recording the TOP 40 on cassettes, pagers, telling your mates to call the local pay phone if they needed you. No selfies!!!”
Renna

“I miss penny sweets! Every Friday my mum would give me 50p to spend on whichever selection of treats I fancied and I felt so rich! A huge bag full of big fizzy cola bottles, haribo strawberries and fried eggs would be mine to munch on. Nowadays, penny sweets cost a small fortune!”
Lucy Me Being Mummy

“The one thing I miss the most that my kids will never experience is having a phone call with your friends using the house phone and someone picking up the other one!”
Chez Mummy of 5 Miracles

“I miss being bored! I remember summer holidays that lasted forever because there was nothing to do. Now it is hard to get away from constant entertainment, I have to switch it off rather than wait for it to come on.”
Lisa Less-Stuff

“I miss going round to my neighbours house, playing around there until late and then coming home. We would get to play out on the streets on our bikes, with a ball playing kirbee or we would go wondering in the woods just sitting and chatting.”
Zoe My Mummys World 

“Cheesy Pop Music. You know the type where there were dance routines like Steps and The Spice Girls.”
Julz The Redhead Diaries

“I miss the lack of of health and safety, there were less restrictions on what we did, we just had common sense.”
Robyn Catching Up With The Clarkes

“I miss doing fun summer activities like tye dying—I used to tye die everything I could get my hands on!”
Samara Tiny Fry

“I miss most from my teenage years, is taping the top 40 on a Sunday night.  It literally was a thing we all done and then crash round each others houses just listening to our badly recorded tapes!!!”
Sharon Everyones Buck Stops Here

And there you have it, a small collection of memories of growing up in simpler times, without any distractions or iPhones to take away from. Reading some of these made me smile, and think, I’m definitely not the only one reminiscing another time and feeling blessed that I got to enjoy it.

Do you think our kids will reminisce about selfies and netflix? I’m not too sure…

Is there one thing that you miss most about your childhood? Share it with me in the comments, I love reading them!