MANY AMERICANS EXPERIENCED

A FB friend wrote this but I think many Americans can identify....

 I grew up in a military family...all over the U.S. but mostly Georgia and Kentucky. This was during a time when everyone treated each other like Family. Fast food was unheard of in my family and we would sit down at the table for all meals. We drank kool-aid, ate bologna sandwiches, PB&J sandwiches, potted meat sandwiches. We would go to the corner store to trade in reusable coke bottles to get a $1.00 and use it to get a bag full of candy and an Drink. We worked babysitting and mowing lawns and did chores for free. We knew the value of money even as children, because we had to earn it. We worked a huge garden during each summer. We went outside to play games like kickball, hopscotch, kick the can, hide & seek, red light green light, red rover, baseball, basketball, water fights, jumped rope, dodge ball or tetherball, played house and barbies. We chased Lightning bugs (fire flies) and flew June bugs on the end of a thread. There was no bottled water, so we drank from the garden hose when we needed a drink.

We watched cartoons and did extra chores on Saturday morning. We would ride our bikes for hours all without a cell phone or electronic games. We would visit the library and find a book by cards; not a computer screen.

We weren't AFRAID OF ANYTHING except our parents and maybe an old 'haunted house' or two. If someone had a fight, that's what it was...a fight and you were back to being friends.

Kids didn't have guns (except for sticks we used as guns or plastic guns) when we were playing cowboys and Indians and never thought of taking a life, especially not their own. Building forts in the woods, the hay barn, or clay gulley. When the porch lights came on you had best be home. School was mandatory. We watched what we said around our elders because we knew If we DISRESPECTED any grown up we would get our behinds busted or legs switched, it wasn't called abuse, it was discipline! And we had to pick our own switch. 

Please and Thank you were a part of our daily dialogue along with sir and ma'am! We went to Church and we were grateful for everything we had. We ate meals as a family and learned to "clean" our plate. Eat it all. We said the pledge of Allegiance and had devotion EVERY morning at school before class, we were respectful and thankful.

I've been thinking more and more lately how grateful I am that I grew up at this time where the world was so much simpler and different. I miss that world so much!!

Share if you're thankful for your childhood and will never forget where you came from! Wouldn't it be nice if it were possible to get back to this way of life?