Month: February 2021

Toy Boom

Jeanna G3 Comments

My daughter and I took a trip to the NC Museum of History in downtown Raleigh yesterday afternoon. One of their many fascinating exhibits teaches about the “Toy Boom.” Going back in time to consider the impact of play is right up my alley!

Before arriving, I hadn’t realized that the toys on exhibit were from the 1950s & 60s. Some I recognized from my dad’s stories, like an Erector Set. Some were still popular when I was child in the 80s, like G.I. Joe, View-Masters, and Gumby, and some of the toys are still hits with kids in 2021: Slinky, Twister, Mr. Potato Head, Candy Land, Barbie, Frisbee, Legos, Etch A Sketch, and Silly Putty. I was excited to find Mouse Trap, considering Santa dropped one down our chimney this past Christmas. Related to Christmas, a virtual Sears Christmas catalog was on display. My pen would run out ink before I could circle every toy I wanted.

My daughter and I learned a few things within the toy exhibit. I was relieved to see her confusion over the toys that promoted gender roles in society. For example, there were two separate “What Shall I Be?” board games about what career to pursue; the one for boys had pictures of astronauts, football players, and doctors, and the one for girls had pictures of flight attendants, socialites, and nurses. It was a nice segue to the exhibit downstairs about the suffragists.

What I learned was that some of the toys were developed and promoted with ulterior motives in mind. My takeaway was that our government recognized the benefits of learning through play; toys make learning more fun, and some of these new toys could eventually help to support our race for space and wartime efforts.

The exhibit also exposed the impact of commercial advertising once televisions replaced radios as a form of entertainment. The baby boom, economic prosperity, and an influx of televisions combined to make a great recipe for consumerism. Nowadays, kids eyes are still glued to screens: TVs, tablets, and smartphones. They see the advertisements, but it seems harder to peel them away long enough to actually play. My hope is that we adults remember how much fun we had with our toys, and spend more time sharing that love with our kids.

Winter Retreat

Jeanna GLeave a comment

Back in middle and high school, my church youth group took an annual trip to Camp Squanto in New Hampshire for a Winter Retreat. The recent weather impacts across the country have me thinking an awful lot about that trip. You see, growing up in the Northeast, we expect bad winter weather so much, that it’s never really bad, because we’re prepared. We can appreciate and enjoy the beauty of snow because, for one thing, when it arrives, it sticks around for awhile. Secondly, we know how to manage it efficiently, leaving time for play. So regardless of the weather, we’d still make the trip further north to camp, where we’d retreat from the stress of school, and play with our friends in the seclusion and serenity of a Winter Wonderland.

In the north there were 10’ snow banks on which we were kings. Sledding hills were covered in enough snow to ensure a smooth ride and cushion at the bottom. We would build snow forts, dig tunnel mazes, and have massive snowball fights. We could snow shoe and cross-country ski our way to the store. And the ice actually froze thick enough that we could fish, skate, or play hockey without worrying (too much!) about falling through.

Snow much fun!

One of my favorites memories of the Winter Retreat was playing Broom Hockey. We’d sweep off the outline of a large square on the surface of the lake. Everyone had a broom, and there was one ball. The game was won when one of the teams swept the ball all the way around the square one time. Sounds easy enough until you consider that everyone is slipping in their winter boots, and the other team is trying to steal the ball and move it in the opposite direction around the square. The games would go on late into the night. Then we’d tiptoe into the Dining Hall and warm up with hot cocoa before collapsing into bed.

I have so many sweet memories of the beauty and fun of my childhood winters, that living in the south in the winter leaves me feeling rather rueful. The winters down here are cold with little to no snow. Lately we’ve had rain, freezing rain, ice, and more rain; not much to enjoy about that. Ironically, when most people move south to retreat from winter, I’d rather retreat to winter!

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Jeanna G1 Comment

It’s Marci Gras! I did my part to make sure Fat Tuesday lived up to its name by making and eating an absurd amount of gumbo and cornbread. I’ve never been to the Mardi Gras festival, but I have been to New Orleans, and our hotel was right on Bourbon Street, and we visited the Mardi Gras museum to see the floats. I was also traveling with my 7-year-old at the time, so I had to be somewhat prudent. Anyhow, I was watching the news this morning about New Orleans and how there is no parade because of Covid, but houses and yards are decorated to the nines. One interviewee said, “The parade may be cancelled, but the spirit of Marci Gras cannot!” And that is when I got teary-eyed.

I don’t know about you, but I hope post-Covid celebrations rush in like someone opened the floodgates. Potential memories are being stolen from us. Sweet memories of passing out cupcakes on your birthday or Valentines to your classmates were erased like a chalkboard this past year. Dancing like nobody’s watching on a crowded amphitheater lawn is only a hallucination. Singing the school fight song with 109,000 other fans in the university stadium must have been a figment of my imagination. Hugging and holding hands? Only in our wildest dreams. Festivals, reunions, and play dates are all fictional chapters of our now boring lives. Gosh, I even fantasize about struggling to get the bartender’s attention during happy hour!

I hope when we become a herd again, we become immune to boredom. I hope we flock together and have a parade. A day of parades all over the world with singing and dancing, and everyone has a seat together at the grandstand with a perfect view of the spectacle. But the timing of these Mardi Gras celebrations will be reversed, because we’ve been abstaining for too long, as if we’d given up togetherness for lent. It’s time for the spirit of Mardi Gras that has been hibernating in our hearts to wake up, take a real good stretch, and let the good times roll!