Waking up in the 80s was a different world. Everything was slower paced. It was akin to a soft melodic song. Life was relaxing and peaceful. Of course, I was a kid. My biggest adventures and idea of fun were playing outside or riding my bike. Being a kid during the 80’s was pretty easy. Nothing was better. Life in general was slower than today’s hectic pace. What do you miss the most about the 1980’s?

Fresh air and bright sunshine were the best parts of a Copper Country summer day back in the 80’s. We lived to be outside. It was the norm for nearly everyone back then. Especially children. We relished the outdoors and especially all the wonders of nature. From insects, animals, puddles, creeks to all the different flowers and trees. Then at night; watching fireflies, or learning constellations. Soaking up the last of another long fun, summer day. Days like these were a blessing.

There were a myriad of outdoor games to choose from or simply making up any game on the fly. We would literally be outside right after breakfast to dusk nearly every single day. It was definitely the best of times. Growing up in the 80’s could not compare to today. We were truly blessed living in the Copper Country during the 1980’s. Life was simply … simple.

Much of our time as kids was spent playing baseball or bike riding. Those were the two big ones. The times spent playing baseball will forever be logged into my memory. We had many, many exciting days of games. It was an all day affair when we played baseball. Life couldn’t get any better. Hours flew by like the summer wind.

The time went by faster when there were so much to do outside. Biking was especially fun; as it kept us busy no matter the weather. Living in the country was a great place to learn to ride a bike. There was less traffic and open spaces to practice. It helped tremendously. Before long it was second nature to ride a bike. We had the bikes and the energy to ride all day long. The time flew by.

Those memories are lifetime memories as well. Learning to use a bike; how to stay upright, balancing properly, and, like anything new, practicing was important. Our road was a fun place to learn. There was a slight incline to it. It helped making to learn balancing easier. Soon it was another challenge met.

Life couldn’t get better. Biking everyday was next the big past-time — pedaling and coasting — nothing was better.

Besides outdoor games, it was fun to simply sit outside and just run around — seeing everything there was to see. Every day was a different kind of adventure. There was a lot of butterflies and bumblebees back then; more than nowadays. There were copper belly snakes and garter snakes. Rabbits, turtles, fish, squirrels, deer, birds, and occasionally bears. At night there were a couple bats. Dark colored in the late dusk and flying low — that meant its time to head inside.

Then there were all the animals we would encounter — off and on. There were quite a few more bears back then — you might even see them walking down our road at times. That was a sight. It was usually a family with cubs. We would watch as they strolled down the road together. Not something you see everyday, but not uncommon either.

There was nearly always a game of some kind going on. It normally would involve a ball or running … or both. Other games we played were marbles, badmington, darts, cops and robbers — we took turns of who was a cop and who was a robber. I preferred being a cop I recall. It was one of the games that we did enjoyed. Anything outside was fun, and we were always moving from one game to another. Kites, paper air planes, forts, and all sports were among the activities we did.

And, another favorite was a game we called 14 steps. It was mixture of red-light green-light and freeze tag … somewhat. It was played around the perimeter of our house outside. Then we also had a jungle gym that we used to play on as well. We could hang out on that contraption for hours. It had swings, pull up bars and monkey bars. Tree forts and tree climbing were not off-limits either.

On hot summer days we made a huge home-made slip-and-slide.That was especially fun. We had two huge sheets of plastic for the run and bottom pool. We literally would spend hours doing this on the hill in our yard. Occasionally all the water in the end would “splash out” and we would refill it as fast as we could. It was slippery and fast — and nonstop fun. The water would warm up some on a hot day, but on days when it was colder — we were fine with that.

The days back in the 80’s, definitely were a different world. Yes, they were peaceful and relaxing, yet super memorable. We lived to be outside and enjoying everything there was to experience, see and do. We drank from the garden hose. On a hot day, there was nothing better than a cold drink from the garden hose. And, we would not have wanted to grow up any other way. The 80’s were simply the best.