Many of us know there is alot of fun in life that we can make if we just set our minds and find it. Most kids now are so wrapped up in computers video games, dvd, televisions ect.
Think back to the days when those things sounding like something that most people would say OH that will never happen. I don’t know how many readers I have now, but I can say for myself and those readers that are here, their parents and grandparents have shared stories about not even having a tv, their fun was reading books playing outside with friends or finding something to do by themselves. Which I am sure happened and still happens to his day quite often when friends are off with their family other friends, or if you moved to a different home and had to make new friends, yes I went through that. It was extremely exciting when it was family night were the brothers and sisters got together to play a game or just hang out, and few and far between when mom and dad could join us even if we could just sit and talk, which was another story. However the fun for me wasn’t just hanging out with family and friends, but as I mentioned sometimes alone reading, doing a puzzle, or walking the city streets as a child around the age of five I started walking the heart downtown Grand Rapids, Mi., first it was with my uncles and then soon I was doing it by myself and as I began moving from home to home, do to troubles within the home life,
it was spread out throughout Grand Rapids, and its’ suburb Walker, mid teens I lived in Sparta and was walking around Sparta as well as the outlying areas, and just seeing the beauty of the different areas of the cities and country. Lookout Hill a popular hangout which I shouldn’t have to go into details of how it received it’s name, but it also has a great view of various directions of the city, as well as some beautiful seasonal views of fall color changes winter views and sun rise and sets.
Walking was and is still a great pleasure and time waster for me. Sure I don’t have very many places to walk to anymore, most of my family lives to far north and it would talk at least a day for me to get there and the rest of the family, by the time I reached their home it would be time to head back home, but all the same the walk is there and each walk is different every day you see something that wasn’t there the day before. Such as a factory that was once a mainstay for years closed down a few years back is now part of a Christian Based Counseling Organization as well as a few other things and the offices for the factory for the once mainstay plant still occupy front part of the plant. A house that once sat behind a Meijers store was bought by Meijers, tore out and now the drive for the loading docks sit where the yard once sat, and even though there has been nothing changed as I described in the past phrase, don’t think there isn’t something there.
It could be something as minute as an old dilapidated home that had been torn down a new home built, or a old business had reopened. The sites can be enormous, however they don’t have to big in size, just in quality. The smallest change could be the most amazing change you could ever see. Look at the sky during the day and watch the clouds collide to form different shapes or thin out, as well as the big thick one. Look into the night sky at the stars, catch a glimpse of Orion, the Big and Small Dippers and if you’re lucky maybe even a shooting star. So Please I am asking the next time you take a trip and for those of you who still have children at home, take a trip the way you used to, without the mp3, tvs’ dvds’ psps’ and cell phones, off course parents take your cell for emergencies ONLY.
Have fun with your children,, see what they are doing, play a game of quiz, spelling bees’ math, see if your younger children can answer questions that you feel they should be able to answer from school, teach them things that you were taught, and if the get a little lippy, respond by saying ok (mr.) (miss) smarty whatever the case may be, if you know than you tell me.
If they say I don’t want to talk or I am bored say ok then look out the window, watch the clouds transform, ect.
One game we used to play on long trips was we would look for out of state license plates, however now there is also the personalized plates also so look for those as well. One rule and only one is there must be atleast two people see the plate for it to count. It doesn’t even have to be long trips either. Give it a try, Guaranteed they’ll have a ball. Have each child take turns, switch writing down the state, DON’T write down the plate number. I know it could be a problem and you might be questioning how am I supposed to know if I haven’t already seen that plate and documented it if I don’t right down the plate number. I am sorry to say but it is against the law to document plate numbers unless it is for the purpose of reporting a crime, and it is also territory that most wouldn’t want to step into.
Low and behold as I was in the backyard talking to my son I was looking at the clouds and seen some beautiful forms I thought these would be some great shots for the post I had just finished, so I asked my son if he had quick access to his camera and he said no so I had to come upstairs to get mine and took the shots posted above. HINT HINT take a few minutes and just scroll the skies and see what you find!
Daily Journal 