Grandma was once a little girl

First, we were never bored. Even though we had so little, it seemed we never lacked for something to do. I can remember but once uttering those famous words: "I'm bored!" I swore I'd never let that happen again because you were sent to the garden to pull weeds. Fun was always out there for kids with fertile minds. The games we played were simple and needed little technology. Whether it was a group game like Red Rover, or hid and seek with your neighborhood friends, our games pulled us together instead of the joystick-pounding isolation of today's video games. With little money, we learned how to salvage good times from the recycle bin. I think the most fun I ever had was discovering how to make games out of an old stick, a ball of string or a recycled Montgomery Ward catalog. We took mom's blankets and draped them over the clothes line for tent of afternoon fun. Mom would bring us out some koolaid and cookies for our tea parties. When it came to toys, the few store-bought ones we had, were simple but sturdy. A favorite doll, sled or yo-yo -- toys we had held special places in the hearts of children who had so few. The best toys we had were formals that someone gave us. We would dress up and be the queen of the ball. We didn't have toy boxes; we didn't have enough toys to warrant that. We have so many cousins, who need toys. We had the five Ballard kids, the Morgan clan and the Cooks to play with. We played so hard; we actually got downright dirty.