Thankful for the timing

There's a trend on Facebook right now to every day list something you're thankful for. Something I'm very appreciative of, but couldn't reduce to a little status update, is the timing of my life.







Growing up, we could ride bikes around out neighborhood. There were maybe a dozen TV channels that worked, and most signed off in the late evening. You were able to buy meat easily at the store, unlike just a few decades before, where it was harder to come by; that meat was still 'free range' and full of omega-3's, unlike the rapid growth grain fed warehouse crap you get today.







We DID stuff. Want everybody's status update? Plan a beach party. Usually, most people came. We'd forage around for wood, save up for marshmallows, claim a fire ring early---maybe go for a sunset swim in the surf with no lifeguards around. Nobody felt the need to bring alcohol; I doubt we would have put up with anyone who did. There'd be some innocent pairing up and sharing blankets around the fire. We'd all go home smelling like a fire ring.






We'd take some trips too. Elsinore, Catalina, Glamis, Skiing. We had friends with toys, friends that could entertain, friends that were the planners, friends that could fix stuff, friends that could wire stuff. Oh and people that would take pictures.







I don't want my kids to look back on their young adult time and only remember time in front of a computer game. I hope they have lasting friendships, photos of their own, memories. I'm thankful for the internet, FB and blogging now; I'm thankful none of this was around back then, so the choice was lie on the couch at home or plan something and get outside. Our generation is unique in that we can post, on the internet, a whole bunch of stuff we did before there was any internet.