While many of us, are wanting things to get back to normal these days, we are on a timeline that goes forward and not backward, so what we can get back of our recent lifestyle before 2020, is yet to be seen. But the thoughts of going back to the familiar, brought up some feeling of nostalgia in me and I am a sentimental sort. On my blog landing page  I posted a picture of my childhood wagon. Most of you are familiar with a Red Flyer, but how many of you have ever seen a round orange moon wagon? I am not sure how many of them were made, but I never have seen another one in person. So while I didn’t always have what others had, I am okay with that. My childhood experiences are what have made me the unique person I am. So I decided to dig deep into the treasure boxes of the past and take a trip down memory lane. Having a tangible object that I can touch and feel to bring me back to days gone by is very nostalgic for me. While it is not healthy to live in the past, reconnecting with good memories is fun.

Periodically I decide that it is time to release these parts of my past to make room for the future. I have decided to do that with some of my treasures and maybe you know someone that would find joy in some of the nostalgic things that I am ready to part with. One of my childhood toys was a Red VW toy car by TONKA. It was the only car that I had target than a matchbox car. I had matchbox cars and my brother had remote control cars a little bigger that this, but with our pretend play, we found a way to make it work. I have already let go of the matchbox cars. This was the one I held onto. My grandmother drove a yellow VW bug, so I guess that is what made it special to me.

I also got introduced to photography at a very young age and it all started here. I can transport myself back to days that I looked through the viewfinder of my toy camera and clicked the button. And that led to an instamatic camera with real film when I was 7. 

And while many kids did have an etch a sketch, I would say it is a good hybrid of drawing and drafting that was a precursor to the graphic design that I do today on a computer.

An early introduction to music also fostered a passion for singing throughout most of my life. A toy grand piano and being a child of the 60s-70s, I learned to play music by hearing it. My mother tells me that after hearing the Coca Cola commercial with the song “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony”, I taught myself to plunk out the tune on my little keyboard and I was only 4. The memories of that commercial impacting me the way it did at that time, reminds me how much we need to hear that song today and live it out.

So as we live out our lives one day at a time, we look back and see where we used to be and we appreciate what good memories we have and see how they have brought us to where we are today. While we can’t go back, we can use our past to create our future and stand up for what values we want our country to hold onto. 

Share a comment about one of your favorite childhood toys that may have shaped who you are today.

If you are feeling nostalgic check out my Etsy Shop and see if there is a slice of history that interests you and want to make a part of the present.