Reliving My Childhood

 

So it all started with scouring thrift stores for children's books.  And not just any children's books, ones I read as a kid but didn't already own.  As I looked though each title I would get all giddy and feel a warm tingle come over me when I would discover one of those books.  I would buy it and bring it home to read to Baby J and a flood of childhood memories would wash over me.  I then became slightly obsessed with rediscovering my childhood.

I went back through all the books I had saved from when I was young and read them again to Baby J.  I picked all my favorites like We Help Mommy, Bobby's New Clothes, Ox Cart Man, and Miss Rumphius, just to name a few.  My mom and dad must have read these to me a thousand times.  To this day my mom still can't read Bobby's New Clothes.

After I explored the books, I pulled out my Teddy Ruxpin and Grubby.  I LOVED these as a kid but the one thing I remember is they both took four C batteries and batteries were expensive so once they died I had to wait until I could scrounge up eight more before I could play with them again.  My favorite story was Uncle Grubby, it was the pink tape.  Teddy and Grubby find some Fob eggs so Grubby sits on them until they hatch.  Such a heart warming story don't you think.  Beats the heck out of me why it was my favorite.  I feel so warm and fuzzy just thinking about it.

This morning I went on YouTube and found a bunch of Reading Rainbow episodes.  Oh my life is complete now.  Reading Rainbow as one of my favorite shows.  After watching six episodes I had to tear myself away from the TV or I would have been there all day.  But then Baby J woke up and needed to be fed so I justified watching one more.  Yes the show was rather corny at times, but I still love it after all these years.  The skits, the stories, the trips to different places, all of it.  I think it's almost more fun to watch now because I've been to some of the places on the show and it reminded me of those trips.  Like the episode where Levar Burton goes to Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts or the San Diego Zoo.  You can really tell the show was from the eighties by the clothing.  There is one episode where everyone is wearing sweat bands, leotards over tights and leg warmers while practicing a dance routine.  It was classic.

I still have more to do in terms of rediscovering my early childhood.  I have a lot of Fischer Price Little People toys at my parents house I need to pull out and play with.  I'm not sure what else I have stashed there.  Hopefully I saved my Light Brite.  I would love to play with that right now on this rainy afternoon while drinking hot cocoa.  It sounds delightful.

Baby J will get all of the things I saved.  I hope he enjoys playing with my toys as much as I did.  Maybe he will save them for his kids and when he pulls them out he will have the same happy memories that I have.