Padd Solutions

With spring break sadly behind us, and the rest of the semester and finals left to face, I felt a longing for the way things use to be. I want to officially take back every time I ever said I didn’t want to take a nap in kindergarten. I would like to make amends to all the teachers that I drove crazy when I refused to lay down, by taking a nap every day at school now. It is the only fair thing. I did learn a few years ago that children no longer get naps at kindergarten, which saddens me because when they are adults they will not have fond nap time memories.

This blog post however is not about my love of naps, it’s about nostalgia and things that I remember from being a kid that I wish were applicable to me as an ‘adult’.

• Dunkaroos -These were the most delicious snacks in the world. When ever I would open my lunch box at school and see them nestled between my cheetos and my sandwich I would break out in a little dance. Apparently they were discontinued which saddens me to no end. Speaking of school lunches, do you remember the tables in elementary school where the seats are attached to the table and we had to sit boy girl boy girl?
  





• Lunch Boxes-I still have the first lunchbox that I ever got. Actually it looks a lot like this one. I loved this lunchbox. Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers was my favorite cartoon when I was five. The thing I loved most about lunchboxes was that there was a lunch inside of them. There was no thinking involved. When it was lunch time you were going to eat what your mom had made or you traded with the people seated next to you. There were no lunch plans, worrying about where to go, no you went to the cafeteria opened your lunch box and ate. Bringing your lunch is not so much fun when you have to make it.
  


• Notes from your mom- I want this to be taken as a legit reason for me not being in class. Or work for that matter. I know we are all adults and need to be responsible but sometimes I don't want to get out of bed and be an adult. I want my mom to have power in my life for getting me out of things every once in a while. I also wish that the threat of calling someone's mother still had the same effect. I'm sure there would be no war if mom's had the power that they did when we were children.
  
  


• Toys in meals- I love kids meals, what is not to like about a meal that comes in small portions and includes either crayons, a drawing space or a toy. We need an adult meal. Kind of like a kids meal but with more food and an adult beverage. I loved going out to eat and knowing that there would be something to entertain me while I waited for food.

• Toys and Cartoons- Quick! Think of your favorite cartoon. Chances are if you were a child in the 90's like I was then we thought of many of the same cartoons. I remember when Cartoon Network first started and use to have contest that would let kids vote for what would be the newest show they produced. Such wonders as Courage the Cowardly Dog and Cow and Chicken came from that. Or the shows on Nickelodeon, Double Dare, Are You Afraid of The Dark, and Hidden Temple. Hidden Temple was actually my favorite. That giant stone face made me feel all kinds of smart. You can actually watch episodes of Are You Afraid of The Dark on YouTube. The episode about the house next to the lake where the old man can't sleep because he is haunted still scares me to this day. Speaking of toys I think we should all rebel and make it socially acceptable for us to play. Not build or research or study. Just play, go to the park, swing or go on the slide, anything that lets us be free and just enjoy life. Where we can go out in public with our heads held high after a great game of tag or Red Rover.

This is just a short list of things that I miss from my youth. If I had the time (and if people would read it) I would go on for hours. What are some things that you remember from your childhood? Do you also have a fondness for the same things I do? Do you also miss nap time? Tell me in the comments.