What’s happening to me?
For a much needed "get out of the house" break we took the kids to an all inclusive, indoor play-arama. There was everything from slides and climbing, to inflatables, to miscellaneous sports and video games. I felt a weird feeling as I said words that had stuck in my brain ages ago and I thought, "That sounds like my dad."
I remember when I was about 10 or 11 years old I had earned a little independence and I was allowed to roam the mall "freely" as long as I kept an eye on my watch and met up at the appropriate time. This was East Texas and the little mall we had was not nearly as scary as those in and around Houston. (That sounds quite parental, as I write this). I would head straight to the arcade for a battle with aliens on Space Invaders, Defender or Galaga and shoot down giant insects on Centipede and dig through Dig Dug and maybe spin the "wheel" on Tempest or Missile Command, good wholesome games. After blowing my allowance a couple of times on "games" I remember the father to son talks about money.
Yesterday that happened with all of the force of the most inevitable de ja vu. As soon as I said it I remembered back to those days. Now as a parent, I'm reminding my very own of the "waste" of money. Oh well, it could be worse, I could not be like my dad. I'm glad I'm like him in at least some ways and I wish in more.