I'm Missing Out

Now that I'm pretty well an adult and the tables are turned, I get to do almost all the mean things that my parents got to do to me. There are some exceptions though that make me sad.

Mostly, cell phones. When I was growing up you had to talk to a friend by using a phone that is attached to your house. If your parents ever wondered where you were, they could just follow the long tangled cord into whatever room you managed to stretch it to. And if it was supper time? They would just pick up one of the other phones in the house to interrupt you and let you know. And if you or one of your siblings had particular boy or girl calling, your parents would ALWAYS answer the phone first and then came the awkward interview. I will never get that opportunity to be THAT parent. The best I can do is take away their phone or WiFi. 

Secondly, and this is kind of scary, but I grew up on an acreage in the country. I had the chance to go out into the woods or field and do pretty well whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. The parents never had to worry about where we were until supper time. At my house my mom would just yell my name out the back door and I would make my way home. I used to be able to tell them that I'm going to ride my quad to my friend's house 5 miles away and I'll be back before dark. Or I could just say I'm staying at their house or we're camping somewhere. As long as they had that much info, it was good enough for them.  Now, I'm scared to let my daughter play Minecraft on the computer in our own home, and there's no way I'd let them go outside to the park one street over by themselves. There seems to be a lot more crazy, stupid people our there to worry about and the world seems like a very different place now with a lot less care free.

Note: I DO look forward to the first time they come home hungover though. OH MAN how I look forward to that day!