Healthy Outdoor Activities Remembered
When you were a kid, did you play outdoors? In your neighborhood? Did you hear those words Go outside and play often? I did. Every day unless it was dreadful weather.
Big kids played with little kids. I climbed Eddie’s sycamore tree before I knew its name. We went bike riding and played catch with the dogs. We all played together, no matter what school we went to. The safety net was one single rule, we had to be able to hear our parents call us from one of the 5 yards.
My yard was better for jump rope games because of the slate patio. Patty’s yard had a long grassy slope that was great for running games and races. Eddie had a slick driveway that was great for skating and handball. Summertime would bring lightning bugs and we went raced from yard to yard filling our glass jars. Then gathered in the tent in my yard to tell scary stories by “bug light” until someone got called home.
Circus. We created circus. Our pets reluctantly joined in this charade with silly costumes. Eddie always had some new magic tricks to WOW us with. Kathy and I took turns being ringmaster. It was as much fun getting it all together as it was to actually perform before our appreciative audience full of grandmothers, some who did not even speak the same language as the others.
I don’t know who made the lemonade but after the circus there was always something to drink or nibble on. Grandmothers and parents made sure we were all occupied through the summer and everyday after school. Outdoors. Not indoors. There were some homes I never even set foot in but we surely had a lot of fun in our yards.
Sometimes we played an adventure game that we called Scout. Scout was special because it required all kinds of outdoor equipment, like canteens and flashlights. I got in trouble once for bringing out Dad’s Leupold binoculars to play with when it was my turn to be the spy. Eddie had plastic ones but I loved the big real binoculars and so did everyone else, until someone discovered they were my Dads. Mom explained these were genuine binoculars for adults and they cost a lot so they were off limits for a motley crew of kids. Little did I know! Today I use them for birdwatching. There is no way I would let little kids fiddle with them.
What happened to fun in the backyard? We were not afraid to learn by falling or failing. We taught each other how to get along. Fights were not allowed. Today quarrels and fights are common in school. And neighborhood streets are empty while kids play alone indoors with video games and eat junk food and get fat.
We might all be healthier and have more wholesome neighborhoods if we spend more time outdoors. Instead, we protect our kids and keep everyone in safe and supervised group activities. So when we get together as families it is an awkward time and everyone retreats to their own space and does their own electronic thing. Lets create some healthy outdoor fun with our kids today.