Thursday, February 10, 2011

Kids Have More Fun

Do you remember going to the bank as a kid? Maybe it wasn't a family outing for you, but in my family it was a special trip into town...and it was very exiting. I remember going through the double glass doors...I can even remember the smell. Right inside the doors to the left was the water fountain which we all had to get onto our tippiest of tippy-toes to steal a drink. While mom waited in line we would walk around the tile floor being careful not to touch the cracks (we didn't want to break mom's back...unless I was mad at her, and then Cracks R Us came to town!), giggling, and jumping from square to square. When it was finally our turn, the teller would give each of us a sucker! And then my mom would give each one of us a penny to get a gumball. I remember how excited we were as we jockied for position to decided who got to go first, second and last. With our 2 treats in hand we would skip out to the vehicle to help mom with more errands or to venture back home to the farm. The bank was a blast...a joy...an exiting outing!

As an adult, I have lost that joy of going to the bank. Excitement....it lacks. I see it as a chore...a dreaded errand...another item on a never-ending To-Do list. The line never moves fast enough, and sometimes I am greeted my a less-than-cheerful teller. It's just another thing I "have" to do that used to be something I "got" to do.

Yes, the bank has lost its joy in my adulthood. Disappointment and mundane ring true...and the little girl in me misses the joy she found in such simple things. Now, the bank has a very different vibe: The water fountain probably has germs.There are no gumball machines. The floor has no allure and fails to call to my inner-child. And I never get a sucker at the end of my transaction!

9 comments:

Joann Mannix said...

You're so right! Now when I think of the bank, I groan.

My youngest girl is so good about bringing me back to that place, that place where so much of the world was a treat, something to treasure.

Just the other day, I laid in the grass with her and discovered secrets in the shapes of the clouds. It's been forever since I've done that. I had so much fun. We need to remember more of those things.

Johi said...

If you go through the drive thru and tell them you have kids in the vehicle I bet you will get candy! :-)
Being an adult blows sometimes, but look on the bright side, at least we don't have to sneak around to have sex! (...or at least when we do it is because we are reliving our youth!)

Ashley said...

Ha, I actually do remember going to the bank as a kid and loving it! It is kinda sad how much things change as you get older. Altho like you said, everything has changed, things are not carefree like they used to be. I feel sorry for our kids that the world has become a dirty and scary place.

raveninthewolfden said...

OH , I loved reading this and came to remember the thrill of such simple like adventures. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

{thank you muches for the lovely comment you left on my blog} I am also a new follower.

Heather said...

I hated the bank as a kid. My little brother was always such a suck up. He would hold the door open for other customers and sometimes they gave him change.
He was a turkey.
He still is a turkey.

Tales of a Hockey Wife said...

My sister and I used to sit so tall in the back of the car..hoping the bank teller would see us and send suckers our way! I always make sure to ask the tellers if they have suckers for my kids, since that was such a fond memory for me.

We now live in Canada, and I asked the bank teller if they had suckers...she looked at me like I told her to "stick 'em up"...I explained to her that in the US the banks always have suckers for kids...she thought I was nuts, and then gave my son a piece of gum out of her purse!

Great post!

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

The whole illusion that getting money from a bank free of charge is definitely a faded memory..lol.

Patty said...

How true this is! The world has become a scary place; so much so that going inside a bank has me checking people out, looking for red flags of suspicion so I always opt for the drive-up.

When my big 152 lb. Rotty/Lab was alive, he'd often take a ride with me, taking up the entire back seat. The Teller either liked him or was terrifed because lollipops & dog biscuits came flying back in the deposit drawer, even before I got my receipt.

Society, overall, has changed drastically. People don't (or won't) take the time to be nice anymore.

KLZ said...

Sometimes knowledge really is a burden