Entertaining Thyself

The other day we had a free day, so I busied myself flip-flopping between real-man activities and domestic duties and dabbling a bit in writing (it’s been known to happen). At some point I realized the kids had been quietly working upstairs for hours on who knows what, and naturally, being the neurotic, overbearing parent that I am, I began to wonder what exactly was going on up there. A was in one room, and N was in the other, so they weren’t fighting or getting into trouble, and I figured I was better off leaving well enough alone.

At some point near dinner time they came downstairs with their respective projects and I was blown away by what they’d done. A had made some headbands on the sewing machine and N had created this remote controlled Lego contraption that had a moveable crane. How cool is that? The previous day we had gone to Joanne’s Fabrics to get the fabric corners (or whatever they’re called) and assorted materials to make a bow and arrow (more on this later), but I didn’t realize A was so motivated. She went to work right away.

In the end, it’s a good example of how much kids can entertain themselves and use their imagination if they’re not totally dependent on TV or violent video games for entertainment. I’m not going to get preachy, but once a kid is hooked, it’s really hard to get them to break free of the seductive allure of the screen. Plus, plopping them in front of the screen is just too darn easy, for kids and adults alike. Kind of scary, if you ask me, but nobody’s asking me, right?

Until the next time, thanks for reading.