Just living in the… 80’s

Hands up who remembers the 1980’s? I certainly do! I was a teenager at the time and living through the 80’s, it felt like a decade that was special as we were experiencing life during this period and that people would be talking about how good this decade was when they were looking back at it. For those who missed life through the 80’s but love the music and hearing about life during the 80’s, this is a list of what you missed and so here are the things I remember of what the 1980’s were about:

Big hair
Rubik’s cubes
Shoulder pads
Slouch socks
Hyper colour t-shirts
Rollerskates
Rollerskating rinks
Walkmans
Boomboxes/Ghetto blasters
Break dancing
Flouro t-shirts
Tracksuits made out of parachute material
Huge mobile (cell phones) phones and you had to carry the battery in a battery case on your shoulder
Atari
Commodore 64
Pacman
Asteroids
Space Invaders
Frogger
Pong
Video game arcades
Amusement arcades
Elastics
Uno
Denim shirts/jackets/skirts
Computers with green screens
Floppy disks
Records
Cassette tapes
No pay tv, just Channels 2, 7, 9 and 10
Betamax and VHS VCR’s
Rotary telephones
No internet
No mobile/cell phones
No social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube etc
No Google – we had to go to the library to look things up or look it up in the Encyclopaedia Britannica
Red Rover
Brandy – the game, not the alcohol
Spokey Dokey’s – Putting cards from cereal boxes in the spokes of your bicycle to make some cool noises
Stirrup pants
Jelly bracelets
Clogs
Rats Tails
Mullets
Holes in your jeans – sorry people who wear that fashion today, people in the 80’s bet you to it! Lol
Stone wash jeans
Acid wash jeans
t-shirts 4 sizes too big
Legwarmers
Wearing your collar up, even on polo shirts
Simon says
Hopscotch
Cabbage Patch Kids
Tonka Trucks
Banana seat bicycles
Nerf balls
Hoola Hoops
Swatch watches
Koosh balls
Kazoos
Etch-A-Sketch
Slinkies
Matchbox Cars
Lego blocks
Yo yo’s
Smelly pens and markers
80’s music
Candy cigarettes
West Coast Wine Cooler – for those over 18
PEZ
Bubble tape
Choose your Own Adventure Books
BMX bikes
The Big Mac song, “Two all beef patties, special sauce…”
Crimping irons
Putting the empty plastic potato chip bags in the oven to shrink them
Care Bears
Synthesizers
Soda Stream soft drink makers
Carrying the pack of cigarettes in the rolled up sleeve of your t-shirt

These are some of the memories I have of the 1980’s, what are things you remember?

Anyone who was born after the 1980’s really did miss an incredible decade. I’m glad that I got to experience it first hand, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!

Here’s to all of us who lived and survived through the 1980’s!

I’m glad you took this walk down memory lane with me, hope you enjoyed it.

Until next time

Kaye

When the universe and life throw stuff at you, you had better be prepared for it, good, bad or indifferent.

Life has throw at me some heavy stuff this year, so much for starting 2023 of on a positive note and starting off the year in a good way.

It seems my 2023 is a continuation of my 2022… one steaming hot pile of manure…

2022 started the year of upheaval in all aspects of my life… work, home, health and the stuff that has happened, without going into detail, it’s been huge and I feel broken deep within.

I’m not writing this for a pity party because I’m not. 2022 was a huge year of upheaval for me, which is continuing into 2023. Despite everything that is going on, I’ve strapped myself into the roller-coaster of life and I’m in for the ride… all the twists, the turns, the sharp corners, going upside down, I’m there for it all.

One thing I’m looking forward to though is after all the tough stuff has been dealt with and I’m on the other side of it all, I look forward to being the butterfly I am going to become.

Through the storms of life, as the storm rages, you’ll go through hard stuff, tough stuff but eventually the storm will pass and you will find yourself in calm waters again. It’s not going to happen overnight but it will happen. Have faith and belief that the storm will pass and you will get through to the other side.

The other thing is that the storms of life are often experiences of personal growth and realising how strong and resilient you really are.

Right now in this storm I’m going through in my life, I picture myself as a caterpillar, then in a cocoon but I know that the beautiful butterfly that I’m about to become, that is worth all the tough stuff life and the universe is handing me right now.

Watch out world… that beautiful butterfly is coming… it’s not going to happen overnight but she’s preparing herself and proving how strong and resilient she is in the process.

Until next time

Kaye