Yesterday, as my youngest son and I were walking through the hardware store, we walked by a little guy sitting on one of riding long mowers and cranking the steering wheel back and forth.

The sight took me back to watching my kids do the exact same thing. “Remember doing that?”

My son, who is all of 9 years old, looked surprised I would ever suggest such a thing. “No.”

“It’s actually kind of fun,” I said. “Even now.”

“I don’t think I ever did that.”

“Yeah, you did. I did, too.”

“I remember doing it once, but that was for real, at Aunt Helene’s. I was actually driving the mower.”

“That’s fun, too.” I agreed.

But it’s not at all the same thing.