A friend of mine read my latest post and alerted me to a recent Time Magazine article titled:
Free the Children: Summer should be a time when rules can be bent and boredom is a state of grace. In the article, Nancy Gibbs writes:
"I want summer not to count because what happens as a result counts for so much. Maybe we adults idealize our own red-rover days, the hot afternoons spent playing games that required no coaches, eating foods that involved no nutrition, getting dirty in whole new ways and rarely glancing in the direction of a screen of any kind. Ask friends about the people and places that shaped them, and summer springs up quickly when they tell their story: their first kiss, first beer, first job that changed everything. The best summer moments were stretchy enough to carry us all through the year, which is why it's worth listening to all the warnings from social scientists about our Hurried Children who for the rest of the year wear their schedules like clothes that are too tight."
Posted by Susan at 7/17/2003 09:59:21 AM | Link
My daughter has been at the dance studio all morning, and my son is at a YMCA this week. It is a beautiful day. The windows are open, there is a slight breeze but something is missing. I haven't heard any screen doors slamming or children's voices echoeing throughout the neighborhood. Granted, many of the "kids" are now college students home for the summer, working full-time summer jobs. The other children I suppose, are like mine this week, participating in activities that don't involve their home, families, or neighborhood kids. I miss the neighborhood "clatter", yet this peaceful, breezy day brings back wonderful memories of my childhood. I think I just might take a few moments to go lay in the grass, look up at the clouds, and dream. I might even roll over, look for 4 leaf clovers or even braid a clover wreath. Oh, I wish my kids were here to see me!
I hope you all are enjoying your summer!
Posted by Susan at 7/16/2003 01:30:36 PM | Link
PFF received a $50 contribution "in memory of Wade Wahl and in gratitude for his efforts to strengthen families in the Mahtomedi area".
Thank you for the contribution!!
Posted by Susan at 7/16/2003 01:24:45 PM | Link