Proud to be a child of the 80's ...

After I spend TWO LONG days trying to think of things that defined me as a "child of the 80's" ... I thought this was a very suiting thing to follow up with after the last blog:

I am a children of the Eighties. I am not apart of the first "lost generation" nor today's lost generation; in fact, I think we know just where we stand - or are discovering it as I speak. We are the ones who played with Lego Building Blocks when they were just building blocks and gave Malibu Barbie crewcuts with safety scissors that never really cut.

We collected Garbage Pail Kids and Cabbage Patch Kids and My Little Ponies and Hot Wheels and He-Man action figures and thought She-Ra looked just a little bit like I would when I grew up and became a woman.

Big Wheels and bicycles with streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to build a city. Imagination was the key. It made the Ewok Treehouse big enough for you to be Luke ... and the kitchen table along with an old sheet dark enough to be a tent in the forest.

Your world was the backyard and it was all you needed. With my pink portable tape player, Debbie Gibson sang back up for me and all I ever wanted was skirt like the Material Girl and a glove like Michael Jackson's.

Today, we are the ones who sing along with Bruce Stringsteen and The Bangles word for word ... and have no idea why we still remember each and ever word. We recite lines with the Ghostbusters and still look to The Goonies for a great adventure. We flip through the T.V. stations we still stop at The A Team ... Knight Rider ... Fame ... and laugh with The Cosby Show ... Family Ties ... Punky Brewster ... and what you talkin' 'bout Willis?

We hold strong affections for The Muppets and The Gummy Bears ... and why did they take the Smurfs off the air? After school specials were only about cigarettes and step-families, the Pokka Dot Door was nothing like Barney, and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron reincarnated?

We are the ones who still read Nancy Drew ... the Hardy Boys ... the Bobbsey Twins ... Beverly Clearly ... Judy Blume ... Richard Scary ... and the Electric Company. Friendship bracelets were ties you could not break and friendship pins went on shoes ... preferably hightop Velcro Reebok. Pegged jeans were in, as were multiple belts ... layered socks ... jean jackets ... jams ... charm necklaces ... side pony tails ... and rat tails. Rave was a girl's best friend and braces with colored rubberbands made you cool.

The backdoor was always open and my Mom served red Kool-Aid to me and my sister all summer long ... as we ate popsicles on the back deck. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to be a princess was high heels and an apron ... the Sit'n'Spin always made you dizzy but never made you stop ... Pogoballs were dangerous weapons ... Chinese Jump Ropes never failed to trip someone. In your Underoos you were Wonder Woman or Spider Man or R2D2 and in your treehouse you were king.

Being a child of the 80's ... rocked!