Summer Picnics, Then & Now
Remember your Sunday School picnics growing up? I remember going to the Belmont Park, just a few blocks up from our church, and having a good ol' time with my friends and family. We played on the swingset (nothing like the wonderful playgrounds of today, mind you--think metal, chains, and potential health hazards, all that good stuff). We did gunny sack races and won tickets for -- wonder of all wonders! -- bottles of soda pop. Orange! Grape! Cherry! Lime! Oh, heavenly day! I still like bottled pop, but when do you get it? (I mean, a cold GLASS bottle?) We ate desserts from the potluck line first, and our parents let us go and have fun. I don't remember my mom or dad hovering over us. Ever.
But then again, we didn't go as many places as our children do today. We didn't have water parks, playlands, and all the kid-friendly places that abound today. ToysRUs was nonexistent; heck, Walmart wasn't around yet. We had one department store in the town seven miles away, but I don't remember getting any toys or clothes there. My mom made most of our clothes. (The rest were from garage sales or hand-me-downs.) And who cared? I sure didn't!
So when I think of the Sunday School family cook-out that we had at our house the other night, I wonder if the kids had the same feelings that I used to feel at such gatherings. Was it fun? Was the food yummy? Did you just eat one dessert and maybe a smidgeon of your Mom's food (because you didn't trust anybody else's cooking?)
Were you experiencing the time of your life, only to have your merriment dashed by a bonk to the head?
(Oh, I forgot about the bounce houses & water slides we-- We sure didn't have that kind of inflatable fun back when I was a kid!)
Did you have fun chasing after and catching the chickens? (I was very, very afraid of our chickens growing up. Has that fear gone away due to my "bigness" or the fact that we don't have a psychotic rooster in the coop?)
Was the lawn mower ride as much fun as they used to be? (I'm thinking so.)
Was the campfire as much smoky fun as they used to be? (Oh yeah!!)
And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."--Matthew 18:3
But then again, we didn't go as many places as our children do today. We didn't have water parks, playlands, and all the kid-friendly places that abound today. ToysRUs was nonexistent; heck, Walmart wasn't around yet. We had one department store in the town seven miles away, but I don't remember getting any toys or clothes there. My mom made most of our clothes. (The rest were from garage sales or hand-me-downs.) And who cared? I sure didn't!
So when I think of the Sunday School family cook-out that we had at our house the other night, I wonder if the kids had the same feelings that I used to feel at such gatherings. Was it fun? Was the food yummy? Did you just eat one dessert and maybe a smidgeon of your Mom's food (because you didn't trust anybody else's cooking?)
Were you experiencing the time of your life, only to have your merriment dashed by a bonk to the head?
(Oh, I forgot about the bounce houses & water slides we-- We sure didn't have that kind of inflatable fun back when I was a kid!)
Did you have fun chasing after and catching the chickens? (I was very, very afraid of our chickens growing up. Has that fear gone away due to my "bigness" or the fact that we don't have a psychotic rooster in the coop?)
Was the lawn mower ride as much fun as they used to be? (I'm thinking so.)
Was the campfire as much smoky fun as they used to be? (Oh yeah!!)
And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."--Matthew 18:3
posted by Amy Siegert | 7:49 AM
1 Comments:
Boy, am I ever sorry we missed your picnic!!!! Looks like you had so much fun! :)
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