times have changed

As I watch my 12 year old daughter grow and change I often think back to my life as a young girl and compare and contrast our lives.......some things are very similar....doing crafts, being concerned about what to wear, fitting in, loving to be with cousins and doing fun stuff, sleeping in....yet some things are very different these days.....I remember at the age of 12 my parents sent my sister ( who was 9!) and I on a Greyhound bus from Buffalo to Watertown N.Y......with a bus change in Syracuse......I remember my mom taking us to the bakery to pick out petite fours and cookies for the trip....she pinned a $20 dollar bill inside the pocket of my cardigan sweater and we were off!!!.....we were going to visit my grandparents who were on vacation at Cranberry Lake in the Adirondacks and they were picking us up in Watertown at the gas station that also served as a bus depot......I sat with the white box wrapped in string with the treats inside on my lap while my sister played old maid with the elderly lady sitting next to her......on our layover in Syracuse we sat at the chairs with the t.v.'s attatched to the armrests and watched Leave it to Beaver.....we almost missed our bus being called and made a run for it....when we ran up I realized I had left the tickets back at the tv chairs!!!.........well, we made it there and had a wonderful week....but looking back on it I can't help but think how times have changed!!!........I could not even fathom leaving my daughter at the mall, let alone sending her on a Greyhound!!!!.......wow!....have times changed!!!!