1. Saturday Morning Cartoons
I know everyone always grows up and says their this or that was the best, but our cartoons were awesome and had THE best ear worm opening credits which any kid that grew up back then can sing, even today. Some of the greats were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Thundercats, Darkwing Duck, Richie Rich, X-men, Rugrats, Animaniacs, Ren and Stimpy, Hey Arnold, Recess, Captain Planet, Sonic, Gargoyles, Ducktales, Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers, Aladdin, Street Sharks, Talespin, The Magic School Bus, Goof Troop, Pinky and the Brain, Garfield, and Daria.
2. Siblings for Roommates
I miss having my brother live right next door to me. We got in so much 'good' trouble as kids and as teens he would always ask me about girls or what to wear to impress them, or for just general advice. The day he moved away, was one of THE hardest days of my life, and it's harder now that we live across the country from one another and only get to see each other in person maybe twice a year.
3. Recess
Need I say more? An hour a day in the middle of the day where you were let out from boring school to go and play. This was actually a part of your daily schedule until the weekend hit of course.
4. Nap Times
You probably hated them as a kid, but they always made you feel better and rested afterward so you developed a love/hate relationship with them. Now, as an adult, it's practically a felony to nap during the day.
5. Summer Camp
Some of the great moments of childhood happen at summer camp if you're lucky enough to go. You start out all nervous and meeting new people and learning to be away from your parents, and then you have all these amazing adventures and good times, and learn new skills, and have tons of fun swimming and hiking and telling ghost stories, that by the end of it, you hate to leave and can't wait to go back. Not too many experiences like that for adults, and besides, can't take that long of a time off to do them.
6. Sleepovers
A bunch of girls+some good grub+the latest gossip. Yes!
7. Christmas
This day was like the Olympics of childhood. All year long you anticipate this one day. You can't sleep, you're waiting to open presents, and see all your relatives, and you get to decorate and eat and drink pumpkin spiced everything, and you learned all the words to every Christmas tune for the obligatory Christmas pageant. Awesomeness.
8. Being Wild
Being a kid meant a lot of no f's were given. You could wear your princess skirt with the plaid top, polka dot knee highs, and green shoes and no make-up, your hair a little crazy, and you were just being a kid. You were free and unrestricted by those arbitrary rules society sets upon adults to pull us into the land of sameness. Also that you were allowed to be wild and release all your energy, like whenever "adult" stuff that was going on like dinner parties or parents meeting with their friends or even church, your parents always let you skip it and just go outside and have fun (aka, get out of their hair and stop annoying them).
9. Birthday Parties
As an adult, you are not allowed to ask for gifts, there really isn't a committee of committed friends and family planning you a big bash every year, you often have to beg to get people to come because everyone is always super duper busy, and if you want to have a party, in some part you have to pay for it. Not so as a kid. It's just one stop sugary, ballooney, themey, pizza-y, messy, present-y thing. And before the internet and cell phones, people showed up and were physically and mentally present for the whole thing and you felt really special.
10. Bike, the first real taste of freedom
I grew up in the era before internet and creepos that you knew of where it was nothing for my parents to allow me and my sibling and our friends to just ride our bikes outside all day long and just expect us back for dinner and not worry. It was total bliss. We would ride around for hours, visiting our favorite spots, and hanging with friends.
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