We all go through periods in our lives when we think back to being a kid and wish we could go back, if only for a day. Our only responsibilities revolved around homework and washing dishes after dinner. No bills to pay, no job to go to, or even worry about having one and although school drained us, we had 3 months of Summer to look forward to.

The other day, I couldn’t sleep and while lying in bed, I thought about what I would do if I had one day to go through my entire childhood. The following is what I would do. I consider myself an 80s kid, although, being born in 1973, my memories are from the late 70s to mid 80s.

I would drag out my Fisher Price record player, plop on a Disney record and sing Little Goldie Goldfish at the top of my lungs and pretend I was on stage by standing on a coffee table. I’d go outside and play in the dirt, barefoot.

Spend the late afternoon swinging as high as possible, on my old, metal swing-set and toss my hologram Flintstone flip-flops from my feet, just to see how far away they would land. I’d play house with my cousin Christie and fight over one doll, even though both of us had at least 20 other dolls of which to choose. Run in and out of the house for drinks of grape Kool-Aid and laugh at my purple mustache.

Plop myself down on the grass, the warm sun beating down on my perfect skin, stare up at the sky, watch planes fly overhead and make up stories in my mind about the people and wonder where they were going. Ignore my Mother’s protests, drag out my Barbie Dream House and pool, spend hours decorating and pretending I was Malibu Barbie-a woman who had it all, including the Corvette and RV. Eat cherry Popsicles until I got a headache from the cold. Not care that darkness was coming, run through the dew-covered grass, chasing fireflies, (lightning bugs, we call them, here), and count the number caught in a Tupperware container. Smell the wild onions and honeysuckle while riding my bicycle on my neighbor’s concrete driveway.

Get mad at the darkness because I had to go in, take a bath with Ivory soap and slip into my Strawberry Shortcake adorned bedroom, (sheets and all), and as I lay there awaiting sleep, listening to music on my Walkman, wondering what it was like to be kissed, plan my wedding and name my pretend kids. Wake up the next morning and do it all over again, simply because I could.

The above is a brief glimpse of what my childhood was really like- from the ages 3-12. I guess I was lucky-very lucky, indeed.