Thinking back to a time of my youth, I find myself remembering the oddest things. I remember walking home from school, taking shortcuts through the yards along the way. Some days with classmates, some insufferably alone.
I can still recall the machine in the cafeteria of my elementary school having a machine that dispensed milk just like the ones in a restaurant. You know, the ones with the weighted handles that would stop the flow, just in case an errant school child would try to leave it open. The large stainless machine had a whole white milk side and another that gave the “good” kids chocolate milk. Before I moved from the elementary school to the junior high the nostalgia of the machine was replaced by milk in a carton. Five cents for white milk and a whole Six cents for chocolate. Milk, not the 2% kind they serve in schools now, but honest to goodness whole milk. Lunches were about 25 cents back then.
I can almost smell the stairwell leading down to the cafeteria from the ground level classrooms. Oiled covered stairs that retained the aroma of the oil used to treat the floors or for that matter any thing wooden in the building. Up and down each hall and each classroom the janitor moved with a deliberate stride. Taking time to push the floor mop along to gather any dust left behind by the traffic of children.
I can remember riding to school with my mom and dad. Taking the new Buick, with chrome holes on the fender, each morning to the land of learning and the planet of play.
Recess stands out in my mind most of all. During our planned excursions to the playground, socialization allowed us to meet others of our age. Recess was the ultimate networking time. Ball games were played after painfully choosing sides. Shouts of “Red Rover Come Over” filled the air. Hopefully your team could withstand the charge of the opposing side, capturing the assailant. Monkey bars climbed to the sky. If you were brave enough hanging upside down was a show of daring. They are called seesaws or teeter totters, but all we knew was that you tried not to step off while your companion was in the air. Lots of running, jumping and yelling burned off the pent up steam from classroom work.
How those teachers calmed us down I still can't comprehend. Those carefree days gave me a world of experience that I value today: Spend some time in play to remain sane in this fast paced world we live in.
We have forgotten how to play without it being a competition. Play refreshes the soul, as well as the body.
Take time to play today.
