The lives of young children are so luxurious, and we don't realize it until we no longer have the luxury! Here are six childhood things that we took for granted as children.
Getting goodies to shut you up -- When I was a child, I remember purposely crying and complaining, because I knew that my grandparents and my mom would give me things to shut me up! If I didn't want to wear something, I would cry and pout and wait for the words, "If you wear this, I'll give you $2 to go to the store!" And that made my day! My favorite memory from my Auntie Anne is going to her hair salon and getting my hair done. It was so painful! Before she started, she would give me a $3, send me next door and I would come back with sunflower seeds and a cotton candy soda. I didn't even feel the pain from my hair getting done because I had my cotton candy soda and my snack to get me through the hair appointment. As an adult, you won't be rewarded for complaining. Adults have to shut up and do what they have to do or things will not get done! I didn't realize how lucky I was.
Naps -- I remember being so upset with my mom and dad for making me take naps! I used to hate naps because I felt like I was so disconnected from the rest of the world! In school, nap time was not a time that I enjoyed, because who needs sleep? As a college student, I realize that, in fact, I do need sleep... A lot of it! Staying up and doing papers isn't the best time! I love my daily naps and I feel like I need them to get through my day. Naps are definitely one thing that is so underappreciated!
Falling asleep somewhere and waking up in your bed -- This was a favorite of mine, especially when I was with my dad! My parents never woke me up and made me walk to my bed; they always carried me. Sometimes, I would only pretend to be sleep, so I didn't have to walk. Other times, I would feel very creeped out because my last memory would be in the car with my parents and then I would be waking up in my bed and under the covers! I miss that now because when I am up studying in a lounge or conference room on campus, I could really go for someone picking me up and taking me to bed.
The Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus -- These wonderful, fictional characters were lovely! Great gifts from Santa and money from the tooth fairy! The idea of these two made children's hearts melt. As an adult, you really would appreciate extra money from the tooth fairy for important things like car insurance, your phone bill and textbooks. Gifts slowly get smaller as you get older, but we never realized that as a child!
Movies -- I don't know about you, but I hated movies as a child! I didn't like sitting for an hour or more to watch the same thing. Watching movies as a child was pure torture! As an adult, I appreciate a nice long movie with a bowl of popcorn and a nice beverage. I can now appreciate the different types of movies out there and older movies that I didn't get a chance to enjoy because I was too busy getting distracted and being miserable.
