I Am Getting Old - Part Three

I know that I am getting old because the children of today do not play the kind of games we played when we were children. I guess it is politically correct to call them children because that is what they are no matter how grown up they try to act. They have video games, their own television sets, DVD players, Xbox 360 and the list goes on.

I remember when we would take spools when the thread was all gone and use twine to string them together. We would play with them for hours and use our imagination to dream up games. We used empty boxes as houses to play in. Much like the shelter you see homeless people adopt today to stay warm and dry.

After dusk, we would catch lightening bugs. When the “light” came on, we pinched it off and used it for jewelry, believe or not. The smell was awful but we thought we were just beautiful with all those “lights” stuck on our hands, arms and even our forehead.

We played games like Hopscotch, Leap Frog, Mumbley Peg, Simon Says, Red Rover Come Over, Mother May I. We built stilts to walk on. Now that takes talent to balance yourself on them and not break your neck. We played dodge ball. Now I see where some schools are eliminating dodge ball from the playground because it is too violent. Give me a break. We survived and the children of today can as well. (This link will take you to the page where you can find information on some of the games listed here.)

http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/games/beard/mumbly_peg.htm

We took old clothes and shoes to play dress-up. We like the children today, wanted to be older than we were at the time. Now that we are older, we want to look and feel younger than we are. We are never satisfied no matter how old we are.

I think that what the children of today lack is a good imagination. Parents of today are so busy working just to make ends meet, that there is not time left for them to help their children develop imagination. Working to make ends meet is a topic for another day.