The things we did as kids

We all have childhood memories of doing strange things that, to us as children, were totally fun. As an adult, some seem pretty funny. While I was walking home from work last week I passed by some girls at the foot of a driveway trying to sell lemonade at a homemade stand. Remember doing that? That got me thinking of other things I did as a kid...

Lemonade Stand:
Remember when mom made you large quantities of lemonade to sell? You and friends would set up your "store" at the foot of the driveway, and sell glasses of lemonade for $0.5 and feel totally rich when you made $2.00 at the end of the day? Ah, hot summer days.

Punch Bug:
Remember when the old style Volkswagen Beetles would zoom by? You knew the sound of that distinct motor, that specific grainy burr that advertised one of these classics driving by. Then if you were with your friends, you'd punch them in the arm and yell out Punch Bug! Then you'd earned a virtual Punch Bug point. It seems so goofy now. Try doing that now to a random stranger and see what happens.

Jinx, you owe me a Coke:
Remember when you were gabbing with your friends and suddenly each of you would say the same thing at the same time? Remember that when this happened, you'd have to be the first person to take your fist and hold it under your chin and say Jinx, you own me a Coke? Because if you were not the first person to have this reaction you'd lose? Lose what I don't know. Real nerdy. Ha.

Apple Stem:
Remember when you'd twist your apple stem until it came off? And when each time you turned it you'd say a letter of the alphabet? Whatever letter you ended up on when the stem came loose was the first letter of the name of the person you had a crush on? It never worked for me because the person I had a crush on started with "W". I usually ended at "E", which is just as well cuz hubby starts with "E". So weird, who came up with this?

Sticker Collection Book:
Did you ever collect stickers? Remember all the cool kinds that you begged mom/dad to buy for you? Strawberry Shortcake, Hello Kitty, Scratch & Sniff, Puffy? To have the best stickers was to be totally cool, and you'd trade them with your friends like the boys traded hockey cards. I think I still have my sticker albums somewhere. That was my favourite activity.

What are some of the things you did as a kid that seem strange now or give you fond memories? I'd love to hear them.