GEN X TRANSLATION: MAKING FRIENDS

Back then, making friends meant your mom opened the front door and said, “Go outside,” like she was releasing wildlife. So you wandered the neighborhood until you found another kid sitting on a curb, throwing rocks at absolutely nothing.

Then came the official friendship interview:

“Do you have a bike?”“Do you like Nintendo?”“Can you come over?”“Is your mom weird?”

And that was it. Best friends by 3:15.

There were no scheduled playdates, no allergy forms, no parents texting each other your emotional availability. Just bikes in the driveway, popsicles from somebody’s garage freezer, drinking from the hose, and knowing you had to be home when the streetlights came on. Today kids have social skills groups.We had one kid yelling, “My mom said you can sleep over.” Same thing, basically.