ANT PIZZA!

i wasn't old enough to understand our financial situation, complaining about how all my friends had the new ipods, and i had an ancient cassette player and a flip phone. i always asked for new toys when we went to the stores, and i got upset that i was told no. looking back, i feel guilty, because now i know that we couldn't afford it.

actually looking back at my childhood makes me realize how some of the things we did aren't as normal as i thought they were.

all of my cousins–who were better off then we were at the time–only came by once a month. whenever they came over, we would run barefoot through the yard until our feet were black, and ride our bikes in circles in the driveway, because we weren't allowed to go out past the gates. sometimes we would run down the driveway touch the mailbox, and then run back before anyone noticed. i wasn't allowed to walk to school, even though we lived down the street, and one time one of my friends was nearly kidnapped (the local news channel ran a story on it and i was standing in the background!)

the house we lived in got incredibly hot during the summer, and all the doors and windows had to be open, because it could get up to nearly 120º (f) in the house. we did this because we couldn't afford to run the ac. because everything was open, there were always ants everywhere. one time we ordered two or three pizzas from a local pizza place. none of us ate right away, waiting until my grandfather got home from work to eat. by the time we opened up the pizza boxes, both pizzas were covered in ants. we couldn't afford to throw them away, or buy more, so we shook off as many ants as we could, threw a few slices in the microwave, and then picked off charred ant bodies, like it was nothing. 

i guess that's just what i thought was "normal" back then.