Well-Spent Youth

My dad, fully aware that I have been traumatized since turning 30 last November, sent me these words of wisdom today. They reminded me just how fortunate I am to have been born in the pre-information technology era, back when cellphones were just a brick-like twinkle in some nerd's eye. 

You see, I was birthed in purer days, back when mothers smoked through their third trimester and children drank straight from the garden hose. According to my dad - a big fan of covering baby cribs in bright lead paint - those are the things (as well as heavy and unnecessary ecstasy consumption in the 1990s) that have made Gen Xers what we are today!

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE  1930's 40's, 50's,  60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being  born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.  
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get  tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright coloured  lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we  rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took  hitch-hiking .
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.  
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.  
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE  actually died from this.
We ate cakes, white bread and real butter and drank pop with sugar in it, but  we weren't overweight because......WE  WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back  when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down  the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the  bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem  .
We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99  channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no  personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD  FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no  
lawsuits from these accidents  .
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us  forever.
We made up games with sticks and tennis  balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very  many eyes.
We rode bikes or  walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or  just yelled for them!
Football teams had trials and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to  learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard  of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation  has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors  ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.  
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned  
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as  kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our  own good.
And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave  their parents were.

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