Lately, life has been crazy. I start working a lot more in the summer. My kids are wrapping up the school year. I thought as they got older things would get easier, but a whole slew of things is happening now. New things I didn't anticipate. Like field trips and after school classes and parties. But it's good. I like busy most days.
My husband and I have been talking about taking a day trip to a pretty well known tourist area with the kids. They haven't been before, and everyone is finally old enough to be able to enjoy it. There is an aquarium near where we are planning to go. It's not huge. It hasn't been updated with the latest and greatest, but it's fun. There is a touch tank. There are some feedings you can see and shows to watch. I happened to see in my mom's group that a whole bunch of people were bashing this place. It's not cool enough, there isn't enough to do. Drive several more hours away to go to a "good" aquarium. This got me thinking about society as a whole. People aren't teaching their kids to appreciate things for what they are. We are raising generations of kids that need more. They need more interaction, more stimulation, the most expensive, the newest. In our house we have phones that are almost 5 years old. They still work, we don't need to throw them out because they aren't the best ones on the market. Appreciating what you have is an art that is being rapidly lost. There is nothing wrong with fun experiences or doing special things. When my kids are older we might need to travel to the aquarium that is farther away and better. But for now, we try to make every day special in our family. As I look around, I feel sad for our world. People are teaching that things make you happy. This summer you will be able to find our family outside on our swing set, taking walks, and at the aquarium that isn't cool enough for most of the moms in my area. We will be teaching them that quality time trumps "stuff" every time.
5 Comments
Jan
6/3/2019 06:22:04 am
We are childless, so I always feel like a target when I comment about educating children. I totally agree, however. We are feeding our children the wrong stimuli. Everything about technology is not bad, but it certainly can be if not monitored (that’s true for us adults, as well). If you want a couple of good reads, I suggest The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher, and Out of the Ashes by Anthony Esolen. Both are eye opening. The ball is in our court. We can’t change the entire culture, but we can make headway with our own families, friends, and communities.
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Deplorable Knitter
6/3/2019 06:36:08 am
You don't need to have children to see that things need to change. Thank you for the reading recommendations.
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RationalKnitter
6/3/2019 07:31:00 am
Sometimes I prefer the simpler pleasures in life and my kids enjoy the podunk waterpark/playground that’s local to us. It’s free, outside etc.
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Jan
6/3/2019 07:38:05 am
Never apologize for encouraging creativity. If my mother had not, our retiring Cantor (organist, choir director). Would not have received his honorary painting at his retirement yesterday.
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Dawn
6/4/2019 10:49:15 am
I tend to prefer a simpler, slower life myself. What ever happened to making mud pies, or throwing a blanket over the table for a pretend fort? I hope, once my kids have children of their own, they will teach them to be grateful for the little things instead of striving to buy or own the biggest or most expensive things. Many precious memories can be made with the simplest things in life.
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AuthorDeplorable Knitter accidentally became a knitwear designer. She loves to design hats, but you never know where this adventure leads us. Archives
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