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When
Children Were Children
Fashion was not part
of the curriculum
By Sharon Hopper
Baby it’s Cold Outside---is an understatement this week. I was looking
at the children outside and was absolutely astonished at how poorly
they are dressed for this weather. One can certainly tell that they are
inside kids. No scarfs, No boots, No leggings, No gloves. Just a coat
and open head and maybe a stylish type boot that is not geared for
cold. I swear when I was a kid and one weighed 60 lbs, he weighed 80
lbs. with all the gear we used to wear. But that did not stop us.
We still went outside and played, skated, and if there was snow we went
sled riding. And we went for hours. I guess we got cold, but if we
could stay dry it was tolerable.
I especially remember a big snow back in the 50’s. Next to the beach
community where we lived there was a cow pasture that had a great hill
to slide on. At the bottom was a creek. Sometimes it was real frozen
and other times it was not. It was the “not” times that got us into
trouble. You see the faster we could make the hill the farther we could
go and sometimes if one did not steer his sled properly, one could end
up getting wet. Now you got cold. Really cold. By the time we got home
and mom helped pull off the clothes we were red with cold. That was
when the old fashioned stoves that used to stand in the living room
really felt good. Ours was heated with fuel oil. My grandpa had a coal
stove.
Seems like we had a lot more snow back when I was a kid. Maybe it was
because snow removal was so much slower and hard work. But I really
think there was more of it. We made many, many snowmen. Dressed them up
in scarfs and whatever we could find. You felt like a friend was lost
when they melted.
Those were days I remember as a child. I cannot imagine doing that
today in the clothes that kids wear now. Fashion was not part of the
curriculum. We just enjoyed and lived with old fashioned play. I am
sure glad that I grew up in a different time. I would be so bored
today. The great outdoors was our fitness class.
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