And then, once I drag him in, kicking and screaming, I nearly kick myself. Foster his love of the outdoors, you idiot, I scream to myself, inside my brain. (Does anyone else yell at themselves in their head?)
I end up reminiscing about my own childhood, a big reason why I moved back near home once I had kids. I loved the outdoors and hated being inside, I mean, inside is soooo boooring! I didn't own a gaming console and we only had a few tv channels. Outside was where it was at! I recall twilight as the time you enjoyed like the seconds before the alarm clock or last bite of ice cream, savoring the last seconds before you had to go inside.
As a child, I rode bikes, hiked, climbed trees, built forts. I played "war" and ran through the sprinklers, built snow tunnels, collected mistletoe, and collected wild edibles. I practiced the bow and arrow and atl atl, used power tools to carve designs into wood and rocks, and watched the meteor showers atop huge granite boulders. I made sled jumps and mud pies and rope swings. It was awesome. Oh, and I did all this unsupervised, just "within yelling distance", you know, before cell phones.
It seems we have lost this love of the outdoors, and this trust in our children or the world to let them play "in screaming distance" from us, untethered, unstructured, full of curiosity. In fact, one of my younger relatives actually asked me, "what do you do outside? It's so boring!" For which I about had a heart attack over. I wanted to cry. I wanted to grab her and most every other kid and transport them back in time to my time and show them what child hood is all about.
So when my son begs to come inside, I hesitate and give him just a few more minutes, letting him savor the simple joy of outdoors.
It sounds like you had an incredible childhood! Access to power tools AND the bow and arrow - A- mazing!
ReplyDeleteA great source of frustration for the past year has been not being able to let our son play in our backyard (the soil has lead contamination). He loves playing in the dirt, so much more than I did as a kid. But, as an adult, I enjoyed sitting in a lawn chair reading while he played in the sandbox, drew in the dirt with sticks, climbed and played. I'm so glad we are moving so that we can start to enjoy outdoor time at home once again.
ReplyDeleteSometimes my teenagers seem to have no idea what to do outside and then realize it is as simple as a frisbee or just walking.
ReplyDeleteYour beautiful post reminded me of childhood. I grew up in India and played incessantly on streets for hours until my mother screamed (at times) and took me inside :). What seemed so cumbersome then, is a source of laughter and happiness now.
ReplyDeleteAmen to all of this. It's a hard thing to come to terms with - that switch to more indoor time for our kids than we had.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I liked being inside, all of my favourite childhood memories happened outside. I hope it's that way for my kids as well. :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad so many fellow bloggers value outdoor play!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, we'd get kicked outside until dusk. Now, the streets are empty, and parents "walk" their kids to play inside at a neighbor's place two houses down. Don't get it.
ReplyDeleteAhhhhhh! The final moments just before twilight...
ReplyDeleteI grew up just like you. We were "put out" at 8:30 am, managed to eat all meals and came home at dusk. Blissful childhood and the way it should be; the way I hope children can again experience. This was so wonderfully nostalgic for me.
Yes. I yell inside my head all the time.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love this reflection. Kids seem to be a bit more sheltered than we were...