Retro Cool

On a recent trip to Target to purchase a birthday gift for Wee 1, a small, metal tea set caught my eye. It was just like the one I had 35+ years ago. Painted white with red and blue flowers, that tea set was a favorite toy. My mother once made me coffee (lots of milk and sugar and an itsy bitsy bit of coffee) in one of the cups. Of course, I hated the coffee, but I loved that tea set.

Looking a bit further down the aisle, I saw a clock and a phone and a set of blocks that also looked just like the ones I had when I was little. Noticing a pattern, I inspected the toys closely and realized they were the Fisher Price toys we all had repackaged in retro boxes and priced more as collectors' items than kids' toys.

The first time I realized my life had become retro was a few years ago when a Christmas commercial featured the tree lights we always hung on our yule branches. When the mother plugs the lights in, the father and son ask, "What's that?"

Claiming that the 70s and 80s are cool now because we were so cool back then, I have coined the term Retro Cool. Sadly, every time I try to explain this, all I get are blank stares from teens wearing Hello Kitty t-shirts.

So instead of trying to convince young people that we had remote controls and indoor plumbing when I was a kid, I will just quietly wait for penny loafers and pegged pants to become Retro Cool.