I had to laugh last night as I watched my hubby teaching my son to play the electric guitar. Having played since he was a young boy, he decided that it was time to move past fiddling to actually start teaching him technique and notes. In a moment of father-son bonding, Daddy pulled up some old videos online to show him the music he used to listen to and imitate, mostly big haired heavy metal groups like Scorpion, characterized by their rapid-fire “shredding” guitar solos. I too remember how “cool” these bands were when I was young, but I had to chuckle when my 4 year old peeked at the screen and said, “But they’re so HAIRY Mommy!!” How interesting to see my world and the things of my childhood through the eyes of my little ones.
Something very popular in our home right now is the Star Wars phenomenon. My 7 year old son is absolutely besotted with all things Star Wars; the movies, the books, the toy light saber, the Wii game. He dressed like Obi Wan Kenobi for halloween and we dressed the dog as his Padawan. It’s bordering on obsession to be perfectly honest. I find it intriguing to see my son enjoying something from my childhood to such an extent. I vividly remember sitting in the movie theatre at about 6 or 7 years old and watching Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi all in a row. Now my children are experiencing it as though it were new to their generation. (My daughter gets excited every time she sees the Storm Troopers marching across the screen, “Mommy, loooooook it’s the Darth Whites!!!”)
My kids seem are under a common misconception regarding some of today’s pop culture; they don’t realize that Indiana Jones, the Simpsons, neon rubber bracelets, punk eye makeup, Bugs Bunny and GI Joe have been around since their parents were little. Whenever we are watching Scooby Doo, their Mommy takes a perverse pleasure in identifying the villain before those “meddling kids” unmask the guilty party. “But Mommy, HOW do you know who the bad guy is???” I know it seems silly, but I get a kick out of their confused shock. 🙂
One of the things that brings me immense joy courtesy of the internet, is the ability to access clips from old cartoons that I watched on the television when I was their age. There is just nothing on the t.v these days that even rivals shows like the Smurfs, Jem and the Holograms, the Snorks, the Wuzzles, Shirt Tales etc. I do have to draw the line however, at one particular show that I have never enjoyed…regardless what anyone says…the Barbapapas are still super creepy!
And then there are the toys; Barbies, Cabbage Patch Kids, Transformers, Hot Wheels, Care Bears, the truth is that everything old is new again. Last summer we gave my daughter a beautiful pink and purple retro big wheel. I found it at the local department store and was beside myself at the prospect of watching her spend hours and hours enjoying it in the same way that I did at her age. I lived on mine, racing around the neighbourhood with my friends on their big wheels like a school yard motorcycle gang. I remember the day the plastic wheel wore all the way out and the big front wheel split, ending my posse days.
Imagine my dismay and disappointment when my little princess was not the slightest bit interested in the big wheel, it sat in the basement until it got accidentally broken and thrown out. Well I guess it’s too much to ask my offspring to be excited about every little thing that I ever did as a kid, right?
Peanut Butter Smudges 
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