Day 206: Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum, In A Dish

The other day, my older daughter was teaching my younger daughter this gem. Man, it was amazing how quickly those few words, "Bubble gum, bubble gum, in a dish," could conjure up such strong memories. Almost magically, I was transported back to my grade school playground choosing kick soccer teams. I was transported to the front yard of my neighbor's house picking up sides to play "war." I was right back to being eight or nine years old and sitting in a circle with my friends, all with our right foot in the middle, waiting to see who got the last piece of candy. 

Man, if only it were so easy to select this or that today using the same means. Hell, some days I'd even settle for grabbing a baseball bat and choosing an outcome by stacking one hand on top of another. There's no broad announcement that comes when the days of "Eenie, meenie, minnie, moe" are winding down to an end, but one day that's what happens. Poof! They're seemingly gone. But they're not really. They live in, in our kids, in our hearts, in our memories. Watching my little kid bumble her way through attempt after attempt of "bubble gum, bubble gum" gave me about as warm feeling as about as much hope and encouragement for her future as anything in recent memories. Watching my older daughter pass that down to her, as inconsequential as it might seem to some, was tremendous.