Some things about getting older stink. The last two summers my right knee decides when the kids are here from Texas that it's too old to go out and play. Something as simple as going up and down the ladder on the boat throws a kink into my fun. I hobbled around for several days after their visit over the 4th.
My generation may be the last one who wants to play outside. I don't really see kids doing that anymore. We jumped rope, we played with our hula hoops or drew a hopscotch on the sidewalk. If we had enough kids for a game of Red Rover Red Rover, Mother May I? or Red Light Green Light we'd be on top of the world. Recess meant monkey bars and swings, a slide and someone would always be around to push you on the merry go round.
We''d sing...The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching one by one,
The little one stops to suck his thumb
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching two by two,
The little one stops to tie his shoe
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching three by three,
The little one stops to climb a tree
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching four by four, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching four by four, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching four by four,
The little one stops to shut the door
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five,
The little one stops to take a dive
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching six by six, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching six by six, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching six by six,
The little one stops to pick up sticks
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching seven by seven,
The little one stops to pray to heaven
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching eight by eight,
The little one stops to shut the gate
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching nine by nine, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching nine by nine, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching nine by nine,
The little one stops to check the time
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching ten by ten, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching ten by ten, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching ten by ten,
The little one stops to say "THE END"
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching one by one,
The little one stops to suck his thumb
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching two by two,
The little one stops to tie his shoe
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching three by three,
The little one stops to climb a tree
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching four by four, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching four by four, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching four by four,
The little one stops to shut the door
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five,
The little one stops to take a dive
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching six by six, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching six by six, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching six by six,
The little one stops to pick up sticks
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching seven by seven,
The little one stops to pray to heaven
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching eight by eight,
The little one stops to shut the gate
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching nine by nine, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching nine by nine, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching nine by nine,
The little one stops to check the time
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching ten by ten, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching ten by ten, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching ten by ten,
The little one stops to say "THE END"
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Now go off and plan a fun weekend and try not to sing this song... just try!
Oh Joycee, first of all, thank you for your KIND WORDS about my post. I aim to write words to the human heart. AND I SECOND YOUR MOTION to play OUTSIDE! BUT here I am, a fit 53 year old who is NOW JUST STARTING to have hip pains that have prevented me from doing some of the summer activities that we just did last year! My husband's knee as well has prevented us from climbing three sets of TALL STAIRWAYS in Stillwater, Minnesota, a town not far from us where there are antique stores galore, and fun places to walk. But he tells me now that he is unable to climb. So that means I can't do it either, unless he waits for me at the bottom of the hills! I find that if I stretch, I am fine. But we are young in heart, I KNOW IT!
ReplyDeleteBlessing to you dear, Anita
We never think it is going to happen to us, aging I mean. Then blam! Here it is.
ReplyDeleteI love the ants song and have sang it so many times through the years.
Joy, I have to laugh at that song. There is no telling how many times I have sung that as a kid, don't know if I taught to mine but definitely going to be teaching my grandkids. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteJoycee
ReplyDeleteThank you for the fun trip down memory lane this week.
Maybe that birthday this week is what's caused you to recall all the fun from the past!!
Thank you for your knid comment on my blog today.
Your Mom is fortunate to have a sweet and caring daughter like you to look after her so well.
Have a great weekend!
PS-Your knees, My back!!
Good thing that wasn't 99 bottles of beer on the wall, you might still be typing!
ReplyDeleteIt's true that you dont see kids out playing any more like we used to do. I thought it was rather funny though when we had a tornado come through here and didnt have any electricity that they were all out playing instead of being inside watching TV, playing on the computer or cellphones. They actually looked like they were having fun too. After we got the electricity back though they disappeared again. So sad not to have memories of playing kick the can, statue, riding your bike, jumping rope, or playing kickball.
ReplyDeleteI think I have this all out of my system now and I can move onto other thing! I survived the big 5-9, not so sure next year about the big 6-0!!!
ReplyDeleteFound your blog on "Jammin' Along" and thought I'd stop by to see who you were!
ReplyDeleteMy granny played basketball with us when she was well into her 70s! I love grandparents who treasure their grandkids.