Those Were the Days
Days when I was in grade school Dad would take us fishing. Sunny days with a pail of worms and cane pools that were longer than could be handed readily. Days when I was in grade school my sister and I would walk the oat fields pulling mustard and weed plants from the crop. Sunny days with no gloves and no hats. Days when my sister and I would be stacking alfalfa bales five high on the hay racks as the acres were harvested three times a year. Sunny breezy days that brought sore backs and sore knees as we bounced the bales off of the knees to get them stacked higher. These are just a smattering of days that have made sweet memories of my childhood.
Those were the days that now bring me to regularly visit the dermatologist in Mankato doing checks and balances for skin cancer. My family in the 1940s and 1950s had never heard of sunscreen. I do remember some sunburns when I was much younger that hurt so much that sleep was impossible. In my youth, I don’t remember anyone wearing sunglasses in the bright sun. I do remember getting too much sun off of the reflection of a lake while fishing that made my eyes hurt when I tried to sleep.
So life goes. Every action has a reaction and I am very thankful that there are checks and balances to safe guard me . . . as long as I care enough to seek them out.