Mommy Barbie: 867-5309

Nothing makes me nostalgic faster than music. So today when we were listening to the radio, "Jenny"came on and I sang every word. My kids sang along with the chorus. (It's not that hard to learn.)

During the lyrics, the song says, "For the price of a dime I can always turn to you." My kids didn't know what that meant, so I was going to explain it to them. I had to start with the fact that there used to be phones that were attached to the wall. That blew their minds.

I took it to the next level when I told them that there were no cell phones. (I also pretty much sealed my fates as being viewed as part of an ancient civilization with that one.) I had to explain there were pay phones, which they related to Superman. Then I told them that they were set up to take a dime for a phone call. They cocked their heads to the side and looked at me like I was sprouting a propeller out of the top of my skull.

After the song, the kids excitedly asked me to tell them more about the "good old days." So I pulled up my walker and told them how I used encyclopedias for research papers. I almost lost them when I told them how we had "boom boxes" instead of MP3 players and iPods. They were horrified to learn that my first television had no cable, only four stations (with rabbit ears) and no color. "What did you do???"they asked, eyes wide with shock and dismay.

"We played outside, played games, played with friends."

"Did they have movies?"

"Yes!" I said, offended.

They sighed in relief. "What else?"

I told them about our first microwave, which was as big as an oven, our cameras that only used film that you had to have developed and that at least half of the cars on the road were stick shift cars. They sat with their mouths gaping open.

Satisfied they were properly amazed by my vast amount of knowledge and experience, I smiled and continued driving down the road. Keith promptly changed the radio station to one of the pop music stations and they started singing along to a Katy Perry song, my history lesson long forgotten...

I, on the other hand, sang "867-5309" for the rest of the day and reveled in the memories...