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Things Were Very Different Growing up in the 80s

Things that were done in the 80s were things that would be very frowned upon today.

By Kerrie G.DiazPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
playing outside until the sun went down picture made by the author in Night Cafe

Life was very different in the 80s. Things I had done and how kids were raised were very different things from today. What year did you grow up in? How was it different from today's kids?

Growing up in the country and living a distance from any houses or businesses. We had to walk everywhere we wanted to go no matter where or how far. I know today's kids would never walk for an hour to go swimming. That’s just what we had to do. We walked an hour or even a bit more to go swimming during the summer.

By Irina Iriser on Unsplash

We had to walk through the forest which was the quickest way. On a cooler day, we could make it in an hour but on a super hot day, even the shade of the forest did not cover completely so we had to walk a little slower. We had to leave before it even started to get close to getting dark because there was no way we wanted to be caught in the forest in the summer at night. Did you walk this far when you were a child?

I was maybe around 10 around this time and all that walking. We use to have to walk a half hour to the local grocery store. Not that far driving a car, but walking it was a pretty nice walk, not hard for us though. We use to walk to get cigarettes for our parents and back then they did not even question giving them to minor children. This would never happen today.

I remember our little town had one store and three bars( taverns or pubs.) One big church in the center of it all. Everyone in the town went to the church beside my parents. After church, we had to go to CCD classes. We were catholic and for those of you who don’t know CCD means Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, which means providing religious education for children in public schools.

I remember the building where we had our classes. Even though the class was about an hour, from what I remember. The building was so scary. It was so old and this was the 80s it felt old. I could only imagine how old the building really was. I could actually imagine the kids going to school there and playing in the playground in the back of the school. I did not like the building, it was so scary I did not want to be in the building ever.

My parents would not go to church, felt like they were the only ones in town that did not go. Always saw all the kids I went to school with and they were there with their parents. My parents would drop us off and after classes, we would meet them at the bar. We would stay at the bar all afternoon. Most parents took their children out to eat after church but not mine. We would sit at the bar all afternoon. This would never happen today's day. Think kids would be taken away from parents if they kept their kids in the bar all afternoon with them. This next meme really reminds me of what it was like in the 80s.

picture from http://teamjimmyjoe.com/2012/08/vol-ii-14-more-of-the-worst-parents-ever/ plus many more sites online.

I had seen this picture a few times on the internet and looking at it reminded me of the days growing up in the bar with my parents. Never would happen today. Did your parents take you to the bar?

©Kerrie Gutierrez-Diaz 2022 All Rights Reserved

If you are enjoying what your reading, please support me with a coffee https://ko-fi.com/kerrie

ChildhoodFamilyFriendshipTeenage yearsEmbarrassment

About the Creator

Kerrie G.Diaz

The goal of my writing is to put a smile, help, or scare them. I love all kinds of topics Horror and paranormal are my favorite but really into true crime. If you like what you read please tip me with a coffee https://ko-fi.com/kerrie

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