Those were the good old days

This saturday that passed by my family and I attended my niece Juwairiyya's very first sports event hosted by her play school Kiddies campus.  The kids were excited the whole week about the event but as murphy's law would have it, on Saturday morning we all woke up early only to discover that  it was a rainy, chilly and miserable day for a sports event. Luckily, the event was indoors at the local recreational centre. Arriving at the venue, we were greeted by the staff of the school who were all engrossed in the final preparations for the event. Mothers, sisters, siblings, grand mothers and grand fathers, uncles and aunts were all out in full force to support and encourage the little ones. The kids participated in a variety of categories such as the hula hoop race, bean bag race, changing the baby's nappy race in partnership with all the mummies, the lipstick race and the scooter race as well. There was also a daddy's race where all the fathers were asked to participate in a race. Hot dogs, koeksisters, popcorn and a variety of other goodies were on sale at the tuck shop. All proceeds from the tuck shop was given to the school. At the end of the event everyone left the venue with a barbeque pack comprising of a delicious piece of chicken accompanied with a roll and potato salad. What I loved most about the event was the fact that irrespective of whether a child came out first or last, everyone received a medal and thus no one felt heart sore or discouraged.
Being at the event made me recall my school days and all the sports functions that I participated in. In high school I remember being a mascot at the annual sports day function. My mom had to sew a pretty white and yellow dress. Whilst I was never really a sports orientated person, I use to enjoy watching the others participate and tug of war was an activity that I loved being a part of. I was more academically inclined and acting in plays, public speaking, speech contests, debating and newspaper competitions was very much my forte and strong point. I remember dressing up like Tina Turner with a wig for a mock interview that we had to do and also dressing up like Sherlock Holmes for a one man show play. Mind you I still have the wig
and now and then we take it out of the cupboard and fool around with it. Oh well, those were the good old days...Don't know if the kids of tomorrow will be enjoying outdoor activities and being a part of plays and having clean innocent fun. Today's kids are technologically orientated with most of their time spent watching television or being deeply engrossed on their mobile phones and computers. Sadly, it is the same technology that has caused our youth to develop asocial personality disorders along with a lack of manners and respect. Gone are the days when kids use to play doll house doll house and pretend to cook meals, gone are the days when kids played 'ringa ringa rosie', gone are the days when kids played hopscotch and swing ball. How I wish for the days of my youth to return, if only I could turn back the hands of time!!!!!