Growing up in the 80's

I was born in 1976. Some of my siblings last night, on the family page, went wild with history that was going on at their time of birth. It was interesting.

I googled my own but got distracted with remembering the 80's and 90's. The parts of living in a little girls mind without the history lesson, that is...

Sunday mornings. Tight braids and hair balls. Unbearably tight braids that made my eyes water. I'd go to the mirror to make sure my eyes weren't squinting. Thick cotton socks stuffed inside black shiny buckle shoes. The buckles were  often stretched out on the shoes, so that they buckled loosely at best. And the hair balls also had lost their elasticity. The Dress...double knit polyester, green with big purple flowers. Hot and scratchy.

Jelly shoes and moon boots. If you know, you know. Tights that hung low in the crotch. No such thing as leggings. Big glasses. Didn't care. Could finally see actual blades of grass and leaves on trees. Barefoot, mowing lawn. Green feet after. Lightening Bugs. Blood suckers and brown rivers with slimy rocks. Banana seats and skinned knees. Cabbage Patch Kids and Holly Hobbie lunchboxes.

Library books, records and record players, School days. Classroom smells, posters, and bulletin boards with amazing artwork by the teacher probably. Ice rink that smelled like sour milk because they used an empty milk truck to fill it. The Big Hill. A place to sled for two to five minutes depending on how fast you were at gearing up. Hallways and water fountains and scary teachers. Bully boys who didn't see little girls before they plowed into them.

Teenage years. Big hair. L.A.Gear high- top shoes and slouch socks. Banned by the Mennonite church, radio that we listened to anyway, Odyssey USA, Paul Overstreet and country music like, Fishin' in the Dark by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Deer shining in hayfields after dark. Swimming in the Big Jump after a day of baling hay.

The mall... and arcade games where the cute boys with spiked hair masterfully steered their cars into the abyss. Food courts with Auntie Anne's Pretzels and Debs for sweaters and bags. Slumber parties where we did not slumber but sickened ourselves on Doritos and Skittles and Pizza. We snuck in fingernail polish and lipstick and did our best to get a pony tail a mile high while discussing boys and who was crushing on who, while swagging leg warmers and baggy t-shirts. We thought we were the coolest.

We did not think of things too lofty for us. The adults did a fine job of it with their church problems and world politics. We were just happy to play and forget the noise and reality of the grownup world.

I feel downright giddy with happiness looking back at such a rich childhood. There are memories not so pleasant like milking cows at midnight with my big brother and family upheavals. I'm pretty sure though, the good and fun times helped us navigate those hard to understand things in the grown up world.