*IN THE MANNER OF THE SEAGULLS FROM FINDING NEMO* MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE!
Ah, the Summer Holidays - or should that be Aaaaaagh, the Summer Holidays?Remember those halcyon days when you were a kid? Going out at 9 in the morning with a belly full of coco pops and a promise that you would indeed come home at some point? When you just laid on the grass in someone's back garden and stared up at the clouds, trying to figure out which one looked most like your dad reading a newspaper on the toilet? Or sat in three inches of water in your best mate's paddling pool for so long you left the house looking like a ten year old and returned home looking like a wrinkly old man who resembled your Granddad? Oh, and riding up and down the road on the back of your brother's chopper until he decided to do one wheelie too many and you ended up flat on your arse? And, of course, let us not forget the hours spent hanging upside down on the monkey bars at the local park, watching the world go by... in reverse!
There were a multitude of ways to entertain yourself when we were kids... so why don't today's generation know how to find their own enjoyment in simply being alive?
Why have I spent the last hour arguing with my 7 year old because she wants the laptop? Why has my son been glued to the TV? Why are they constantly telling me they're bored when they have every toy known to man, a sixty foot garden, scooters, bikes and A DOG? Shouldn't they be making the most of their Summer Holidays instead of complaining they can't find their DS charger?
It makes me feel incredibly old to even think about letting these words pass my lips, but kids today have never had it so good... or so bad. Is it good that they don't know how to take a magnifying glass and a jar into the back garden and discover a whole new world? Is it good that they look at you like you've just dribbled on yourself when you suggest making a fort under the dining-table with a sheet? Is it good that they wouldn't know how to cloud watch if you gave them an instruction sheet?
Well they're in for a big surprise! They will have fun! They will not complain they are bored! They will look like wrinkly old men before I've finished with them! DS? Xbox? Wii? I'm sorry, they do not exist yet, it's 1976 and we're going to hang upside down from the monkey bars! And no you can't have the bloody laptop, cause it's MINE!
Wish me luck dear friends. I'm going to teach my children how to have fun oldschool. They won't know what hit them!
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Cerulean
(new)
Aug 07, 2013 01:28AM
Good luck!
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You go girl! They will be all the better for the experience.
I remember doing many of the things you listed when i was a kid. (though I can't say I ever tried looking for a cloud shaped like my dad on the toilet)We used to have so many "pretend" games and make up games with things at hand, like a tennis ball a Chinese jump rope and a sibling. That said I do remember whining "I'm bored what do you want to do/play?" and the response "I don't know what do you want to do?" This was repeated back and forth till I imagine my mom wanted to pull her hair out.
Oddly enough when you are a grown up I think it turns into " What do you want for dinner?" I don't know what do you want to eat?" repeat back and forth till someone is bald.
So true! We used to take off on our bikes in the morning and all we had to promise that we wouldn't be home late. Late meaning you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, that meant it was too dark and you were late. We would eat fruit out of the neighbors trees for lunch and drink water out of the hose if we got thirsty. Yummy hose water.
Those days were the best and I hope you guys have fun, I would imagine it's going to be a smidge painful for all involved at first :).
I hate to say it Lisa but it's the way we've brought them up. We've all been so busy with our lives...working 1 sometimes 2 jobs just to pay the bills and mortgage that we were grateful for any little thing that would engage their interest so that we could concentrate on what we thought was important. Most of us have lost sight of our own childhoods, and how happy they seemed to be, and that's really sad.Your kids will certainly notice the difference....good luck!!
Good luck, Lisa! I'm sure your kids will thank you for it in the end. :)
