Summer time, Summer time

Ok so summer 2016 is almost half way done. We have had record hot temperatures and the humidex is off the charts. I have decided I am befriending people with pools, so if anyone would like to offer, i am in!

I remember my summers as a kid, it was pretty much, wake up, go outside to see who was with me for the day, go for my daily bike ride or a walk to Beckers to buy a 15 cent freezie, and that was it. There was no IPAD or computer or device of any kind, and you know what else there wasn't anything of ??... whining. Whining was not allowed. If i dare ask my mother to go out or do something fun and exciting, she literally laughed in my face. She gave me siblings, that was her duty to provide ongoing entertainment for the rest of my natural existence on this earth. And she was not the only one who thought that way, it was a whole cult of moms that joined forces to instill in our tiny little brains that we had to entertain ourselves. So we did! Don't get me wrong, we did do family stuff on the weekends and we had fun, but during the week - we made our own fun.

Let me ask you this...when was the last time you saw kids outside playing hide and go seek? I dare you to ask your kids what that is and they will look at you like you just told them that we didn't have flat screen tvs - baffled. When was the last time you saw kids throwing water balloons or going threw a sprinkler? I know when i suggest a sprinkler to my kids its, "mom but the water is cold", and questions like, "do we just run through it? that's it? that's the activity?"
We didn't have Vaughan Mills, Aritzia or Justice, the only justice we knew was when our parents stubbed their toe after reaming us for not making our beds.

I love my kids, they are good sweet children, but i will admit, they are a pain in my as* sometimes. Daily questions, "Mom what are doing today" "Mom where are we going now?" "Mom, can we go to the mall, i NEED another pair of really expensive runners that I will ruin in a week because I know that when I ruin them, you will bring me to buy another pair." And the money, holy Jesus, I cant even go to Starbucks without needing to apply for a loan. Starbucks...can you imagine if our mothers brought us for a Frappocino? hahahahha the Frappocino we got was an egg whipped up with some sugar, that was our "frapp"acino.

Kids just don't get it. They don't understand that spending $25 on whipped beverages is a lot of money. They don't get that going to Dave and Busters was for a classmates birthday and not to kill time before dinner, or that going to the drive-in last week was a privilege! But it's not their faults. Its our fault. We have created a world for them that revolves around them. We cater to their needs, we allow them to be "bored" and to spend time on their IPAD when they should be outside playing with friends.

I don't want to critisize because I do appreciate that our kids can still enjoy life without devices, frappocinos and daily trips to the mall. That sometimes we entertain them because its easier for us, and it makes us happy to see them happy. Mothers always have the best intentions for our children. Whatever we do, we do it because we love them and we want them to be happy. But I know we also want to raise children that can figure out how to manage life without constant glitz and glamour. To figure out that some days we should just "hang out" grab a ball and go to the park.

I know that giving my kid an IPAD or turning the tv on is an easy way for them to be entertained. Or taking them for a cool $10 refreshment allows me to get one too. And going to get a manicure or pedicure with my daughters may be considered a bonding experience, but let me just say this...let's try it. Let's go out and buy a $10 sprinkler instead of a $10 Frapp and throw it outside on the yard. Maybe get a bucket with water and Palmolive dish soap (the green one for nostalgia) and get the kids to make their own bubbles. Let's sit back and have a good old fashioned 1986 summer. A summer filled with the occasional "dickie Dee" and an old fashioned game of hide and go seek. Ask your kids to call on the neighbourhood kids and start up a baseball game at the dead end of the street, and ask them to practice summer saults and cart wheels on the grass instead of in the house, and I bet the fat on my behind that they will have a very memorable, awesome, creative and fun filled summer. No rewards or tokens of monetary value for good behaviour. Their reward will be the memory that will be created in their minds. The memories of summer time fun outside sitting on the green box talking with friends, and going for a bike ride. The memories that make childhood feel like it should. Make memories so that the story can begin with "Remember when Jenna couldn't find me because i hid under the poison ivy in the back forest, instead of remember when i couldn't find Pokeman on my Ipod."

It's time to introduce summer to our kids. Let them know that July and August are for fun in the sun, free of Frappocinos and outfits from Iviva. Go on the fun day at Wonderland, or the splash pad but also get them to learn how to have fun on their own. Get that BPA free, retractable garden hose and throw it on the landscaped lawn, pump up the ice cold hose water and attach it to the "Made for Tv" sprinkler and let them run through and "open up the drapes". Sit back with other moms, a glass of sangria and a bowl of popcorn and enjoy going back to the 80s with your kids. Go back to the time when we ran through a sprinkler, played hide and go seek, rode our bikes and really enjoyed summer time as summer time.

that's my peace today!