Caught in a Nostalgia Loop
If you’re like me, you might have lugged around a box of favourite toys with you over the years. Not to play with, but to house in some storage room or closet recess, all in the hope that someday I would have kids to share them with. Fortunately, I have two awesome boys, and one day, while I was waiting to find the right time to open the box, I went into the basement and found out they already had. They had emptied the contents in one toss and scattered the toys about the floor. It was strange to see the toys out after so long (the movie Toy Story really makes me think about this) and it struck me that these items weren’t mine anymore. They were owned now by my kids. The imaginative ways I created battles for these Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica figures were not their way to play with them. They set up their own scenarios and used them in different ways. I watched them play with these “vintage” toys and just enjoyed the show.
Interestingly enough, most of my favourite toy characters are still on toy shelves today. With sequels and reboots, and even more sequels, the same characters I knew are back, and the imaginative worlds they lived in are greatly expanded. While it’s not my space rodeo anymore, it's fun to watch. In particular, to watch my kids discover and experience them anew. I didn’t really have a computer growing up, at least not the accessible kind we have now, which makes my kids experiences so different than mine. Sometimes each of my family members are on a separate chair glued to a different screen, and it takes me aback. Is this a good thing? The answer isn’t easy, and there is no right answer, but it’s definitely worth getting these “vintage” toys out of their boxes so I can get on the floor with my kids and watch them play together. Although I don’t really dive into the imaginative world of Star Wars battles anymore, I still enjoy watching my kids experience it 20th-century style (without a computer). Does it make me old? Older, maybe. But it’s still fun to feel like a kid again.
