Once upon a time life was simple. Each day started with morning cartoons and yawns which seemed to last ages. Our minds were stimulated by the back of cereal boxes and comics; our bodies strengthened by long games of tag and schoolyard sports. The word “responsibility” was still a foreign term adults used when their voices raised and their brows frowned. Our planner consisted of 12 pages hung on our cluttered bedroom wall which included a handful of important dates: Christmas, Halloween, Birthday and the last day of school. Our office was a room of bunk beds with He-Man or My Little Pony sheets. The foundation of our business was a thick layer of colorful legos 
randomly stacked like a loose after-school dog pile. Our vehicles ran as fast as our legs could pedal and were fueled on stiff quantities of sweets and soda. A domestic partner was a teammate and a crush was a tightly folded note passed to someone you wanted to share a fruit-roll-up with. As the sun sank and your belly rumbled, you sat eagerly at the family dinner table ready for Tuesday Tacos or Friday French-Fries. Your brother’s farts didn’t smell and you sister still had bangs. Your mother still sang and your father still played. Your imaginary friend was one of playful rues rather than neurotic torments and the only worry you had was what to do once Saturday morning came. Everything was slow and effortlessly simple.
As adults, we reminisce the days without schedules and responsibilities. When playful laughter was universal. Today obligations replace unpredictability and playtime is just another word for a fifteen minute break. The realization that life was once simple might be a key to adulthood happiness. Remember the things that made you happy and the games that made you a winner. Go out and play in the rain, dance like no one watches and play with friends because they are fun. You might find fun in a picnic park, a beach sand castle, a neighborhood bikeride or a Sunday skateboard session at the local highschool. Think back when life was simple and relive it as an adult!
photos by Anthony Donez
What do you miss about your childhood? Do you still act like a kid?
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I miss not having responsibilities….now I have tooo MANY… my favorite child hood story…. uummmmm……There is SO many….. Here’s one: When I used to wonder in the “jungle” behind my parents house I came across many crazy sites and many intense events happened in the jungle, one time I went head over hills down a HUGE HUGE dirt hill….. Stopsign was there and instead of helping me like a good friend she was on the ground laughing….Now looking back on it if I saw Stopsign roll down the hill with such speed like I did I would have been laughing just as hard (like I did when she ran one over) At least I got down MUCH faster then my friends and I got the battle wounds to prove it =)
The Queen
I miss skating with Mikey Mullen
Rest in peace Mikey.
I miss San Marcos the way it used to be when I was a kid there in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Hills to explore (without houses – believe it or not) as far as the eye could see, “secret” ponds where you could actually catch some fat bluegills whilst trying to stay out of the way of the teenagers we were scared of but now I know were just there to get stoned. Twin Oaks Valley Road going toward I-15 was way the heck out in the country – there was nothing but real farms. Snakes and lizards everywhere. All you needed was a BMX bike with thorn-proof tubes in your tires and a couple of quarters to get a coke at the Hollandia Dairy store when you got back from several hours of wandering.
I’m all for having the right to sell one’s land to the highest bidder (even if a developer) so I don’t hold any bitterness toward anyone for what SM has turned into; I’m just very very thankful me, my brother and friends got to enjoy it back when it was perfection.
What? Too old to test those bones of yours on the gap?