Taking the magic out of childhood?

A friend of mine posted This article on Facebook a few weeks ago and it got be thinking. 

I think some people took this article the wrong way and felt this lady was a horrible mom.  I disagree.  I get what she is saying.  I do. Let's face it, parenting is HARD.  Its hard enough without other parents judging us.  As long as a child is not being abused, beaten, starved, or neglected, we need to mind our business.  Everyone parents different.  What works for you might not work for me and vice versa.

Growing up I don't remember my mom playing with me (that doesn't mean she didn't, I just don't remember) I didn't have elaborate birthday parties, we never did crafts at home (coloring was about it), my clothes came from department stores or hand-me-downs, and guess what? I felt I had a pretty damn good childhood.  I have many "magical memories".  Most of those memories were created because of me.  I entertained myself.  I remember spending lots of time playing inside and out.  Hide and go seek, tag, riding bikes, barbies, games we made up, etc.  My childhood self thought this was pretty cool.

So, why is it that our generation feel like we need to do more than this for our children?  I will admit, I am one of those moms.  I have to entertain my son all the time.  He has pretty elaborate parties, we do crafts, I scour pinterest and the internet for ideas. By doing all this, I sacrifice me time.  I feel like I never have time to myself.  I feel guilty if I don't play with him but why? This is not how I was brought up so why do I feel this way? Its because I feel I will be judged.

Our society has turned into a pretty judgy society.  We all judge. I have done it.  I am pretty sure I have been judged.  But the bottom line is we all try the best we can.  Just because I may not play ball with my child does not mean I am a bad parent.  We need to stop judging others plain and simple. 

Proof that magic in children still exist without crafts, etc.....
At my first parent/teacher conference with my son's kindergarten teacher, she was showing me his writing.  They were supposed to draw and write about experiences in their lives.  Well, my son had a few pictures of him and I outside watching birds.  I couldn't understand this.  There was one time we were sitting outside and saw a few birds. We ended up looking for bird and taking their picture.  To me it was no big deal, I had forgotten about it, but to him, It was magically and it obviously made an impression on him.   Out of all the things I have done with him, he is remembering the simple things...looking at birds and going to the park (this was the other thing he kept writing about)

I am not saying I am going to stop doing crafts, having cool parties, etc.  I just realize that this is not the only thing he is going to remember.  He will have lots of memories no matter what we do and will think they are pretty magical.  So, friends please stop judging other parents.  Its hard work and we all need to support each other not play against each other.

20 Years...

20 years ago, I turned 18. January 21, 1994.  It was a Friday.

20 years.  Seriously?  1994 cannot have been 20 years ago.  At times it seems as if it were only yesterday and at other times it feels so long ago.  A lot has happened.

20 years ago, I felt so old.  I was finally an adult. Well, in the legal since.  My license switched to a regular license and not a junior one.  I was able to buy lottery tickets, buy cigarettes (although, I did not smoke and not sure if that law was passed yet) and able to vote (which I did not register to do until a few years later)

Back in 1994 we didn't really know what the internet was.  It was there but no one had it, no one really used it yet.  We didn't have cell phones, can you imagine, we still used payphones.  Cassettes still existed and were still popular. CD's were still kind of rare. Some of us still had big hair.

Life was still a mystery.  The future uncertain.  Life was still simple, yet, at the time felt complicated. Our main concerns were graduation lingering in the very near future and what we were going to do on the weekend.

Introduction

I read/follow a lot of blogs.  I love getting immersed in these blogs, these people, that I have never met become to feel like friends.  I envy their writing.  I have always wanted to write my own blog, so this is my start. 

DISCLAIMER..... I am NOT a writer!!My grammar may not be the best, I suck at punctuation, and my spelling might not be right.  This blog will about ME, and things I find interesting/ important.   I might ramble, talk in run on sentences and at times might not make sense.  BUT this is my blog to get my feelings/thoughts out and share them with whomever would like to read them. 

Enjoy!!!