Stand on Your Head and Laugh - Kids These Days by Lady Camelot Over
course of spring and summer breaks, my teenage kids find multiple ways to antagonize me. One of my daughter's favorite complaints is, "...I'm bored. There is nothing to do." Of course, my response is always, "...there's plenty of things to do," with a continuation of myriad listing of ideas, tasks and other events in which she can partake. Ideally, she would have me take her mall shopping, cruising beach strip, and ultimately become her sole entertainment planner and provider during her "vacation" period.
Suddenly, it dawns on me that I was once tyrannical 10-year old who "had nothing to do..." My dad's sharp but justifiable reply to me then was, "...stand on your head and laugh." That was, of course, at a time when television wasn't quite as controversial and diverse as it is today. I can't even begin to imagine many channels my kids have at their disposal. I think I stopped count after 300-something. If movies aren't on their menu, then they've got ultimate in gaming audio - not only Sony Playstation, but also Sony II, Sega Genesis, and many handheld computer games as well.
Not being a house-recluse myself, I always preferred enjoyment of great outdoors. Okay, we didn't live on a mountainside, but our backyard was equally just as fun. Whether it was catching frogs, playing in tadpole-infested puddles, playing Frisbee or ball with family dog, playing Marco-Polo, Redlight-Greenlight, Simon Says, softball, jump rope, hopscotch, bicycling, soccer, tether ball, roller-skating, volley ball, tennis, sprint-racing, or simply sitting on green, dewy grass - there were ample things to do.
Kids growing up in 1970s despised rainy days. We didn't have cool conveyances that children have in modern society. Back then, if it rained - you're "vacation" or "school in-service day" was shot. We actually had to find things to do with our time - like reading, drawing, and listening to music. If we were fortunate, we had some type of talent that we could indulge in - resorting to playing guitar, singing, painting or cooking. And yes, kids actually had to turn on a stove to cook infamous Ramen Noodles. Today, microwave has made cooking a breeze. Specially marked packages of mac-n-cheese, and many other easy-to-cook foods are now microwavable. No longer do we have to wait forever for a quick snack. Mealtime is mere seconds away.
