How will Emma describe her childhood?

Life is so different for my granddaughter than it was when I was growing up. She just attended her first gymnastics class last week. She loved it. She is also in preschool two days a week and enjoys every minute of it. All the pictures I have seen of her preschool class have the same little blond girl standing beside her. I assume it is her best friend.

I never attended kindergarten, let alone preschool. There were no gymnastic classes. There was only ballet and that was restricted to "rich" girls. I had the same best friend from first grade through seventh, when we both moved away. I wonder if the same little blond girl in the pictures will be Emma's best friend all through grade school.

When I called the other day, Emma was riding her bicycle. I never learned to ride a bike. I am way too uncoordinated for that. Mom tried to teach me one time but when I fell off and landed on the crossbar that was enough for me!

We lived out in the country at that time and riding on gravel roads was something that was not at all appealing. I would just as soon walk.

My brothers came along when I was in the middle of my teen years. They both flew up and down our gravel road on their bikes. They never knew the meaning of the word  "fear." Still don't. I admire them for that.

In spite of not having formalized classes we had fun. My brothers constructed the most precarious "fort" ever invented. It's a wonder nobody was hurt. I traveled to Jupiter in my spaceship (a fallen tree) many times. We took lots of trips to "New York" in my uncle's abandoned cars. I have no idea why we always chose Jupiter and New York but we did. Funny, we never actually arrived there. The trip was the important thing.

There were no exercise classes unless you counted gym class at school. We got our exercise by hauling bales of hay and chasing whichever animal decided to escape that day. Now there are commercials exhorting us to "go out and play one hour a day." What is that all about?

We came in for meals and evening television. The rest of the time we were outside, trying not to be noticed. We created alien worlds in our imaginations and in the fields. We didn't want to be noticed because if we were, then we would be asked to do something odious such as weed the garden or clean out stables.

Once school was out for the summer the only times we wore shoes was to church or to bale hay. By September our feet were as tough as leather. Speaking of school, we started at Labor Day, got two days off for Thanksgiving and the week between Christmas and New Year's. We had Good Friday off also, but other than that, we went to school. There were no fall breaks, spring breaks or any other kind of breaks. We did have a couple of snow days every year but as the schools build those into their schedules we rarely had to make up a day.

How things have changed. It seems like every time we turn around the school is having a break or holiday for something. Today's children are as comfortable with technology as we were with farm animals. They take classes in one thing and another and many are so overscheduled there is little time for homework, let alone building forts.

Emma is far more outgoing than I ever was, at least partly because of the classes she is enrolled in. I wonder what memories she will have to tell her grandchildren? Will she reminisce about calculators, television and movies? Will she say, "Back in my day we had gymnastics and preschool, not all this fancy-schmancy stuff you kids have now!"

Emma will learn confidence, cooperation and how to get along with others from this. The gymnastics part of it is secondary. The socialization is key. She is learning things that will benefit her in her grown-up life. I am so glad that she has the opportunity to do things I never did.[[In-content Ad]]