Things Our Children May Never Know...

I used to simply shake my head -at my father- when he would tell stories of his childhood. I think some of it was disbelief that things could really be so different, while most of it, I'm sure, was the fact that I just didn't understand.

Now a mother, I understand. I get it.

There are so many things that our children will never {ever} know.

I used to carry quarters in pocket, so I could call home. On a pay phone. {My dad would tell you he carried nickels or dimes}. My children may never know a pay phone, let alone actually use one.

I remember following loved ones through airport security, which allowed everyone and anyone full access to the terminals. We would sit and wait for our loved ones plane, and sit long after they had flown away. Doing nothing more than watching airplanes come and go. My children may never get the chance to know what it's like to sit, watching airplanes, from inside the airport, listening to the announcements overhead -just because-.

My parents used to send me on my way, pedaling my bike as fast as my legs possibly could, knowing I would come back before dark -that I knew my way back-. We used to play from sun up, until sun down. Stopping only when forced. The world can't be trusted like that {anymore}, not with our children. My children may never know the freedom of playing free, until their hearts are content, because we must keep them close in order to keep them safe. It's sad.

I used to walk to the library and sit in the reference section for hours on end, flipping through encyclopedias and archived newspaper articles. There was no world wide web piping the information in, we had to truly research something. My children may never know what it's like to utilize a library like some of us have.

Time really does change things.