The 90s Still Feel Like Home

There was a time when life felt slower.

Not easy. Not perfect. But slower.

And somehow, fuller.

If you grew up in the 90s, you know exactly what I mean.

Now set it down for a second.

Tailgate dropped.

Warm metal under your legs.

Sun slipping behind the trees.

You crack open a Coke.

That sharp hiss.

Cold glass in your hand.

Crickets start up like they’ve been waiting on you.

And then it comes on.

Fishin' in the Dark

Not loud.

Just enough.

And suddenly you’re not here anymore.

Bill Clinton on the TV.

Concrete ducks on porches like they belonged there.

Hair teased high without apology.

Casseroles that didn’t need instructions.

And late at night, when you couldn’t sleep…Richard Simmons was yelling through the screen.

That guy on the Gazelle gliding like he had it all figured out.

That was entertainment.

Drinking out of a water hose wasn’t questionable.

It was expected.

Cold. Metallic. Perfect.

Windbreaker pants that made noise with every step.

Nerf guns buried in toy boxes, always missing one dart.

Bag phones that felt like the future.

And then that first Nextel chirp.

You thought it didn’t get more advanced than that.

You stayed outside until your skin proved it.

Sunburns across your shoulders.

Dirt on your legs.

Hair stiff from sweat and dust.

You got stuck in the mud.

And no one rushed to pull you out.

You figured it out.

Sunday mornings looked different too.

Cotton dresses.

Shoes you didn’t want to wear.

Wooden pews that creaked every time you moved.

Listening to the preacher go through the Apostles' Creed again.

And again.

And again.

A million times in your little life.

And still… you sat there.

Because that was part of it.

That was life.

Now here we are.

Older than our parents were in those Kodak photos sitting in boxes at mom’s house.

And it doesn’t feel real.

Because in your head, you’re still right here.

Feet hanging off a tailgate.

Coke in your hand.

Crickets steady in the background.

Back when life didn’t need to be documented to matter.

You just lived it.

And you didn’t know it then…

But you were right in the middle of something you’d spend the rest of your life missing.

Not because it was perfect.

Because it was yours.