No Ideas, But Fun in the Sun
Aug. 28th, 2009 10:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouseSo yesterday was supposed to be my "idea" day, but I got sidetracked by the excitement that is Hidden Falls. I don't quite know why kids love Hidden Falls so much, but they do. It's actually not terribly remarkable to the grown up eye, IMHO. For one, it's man-made. A lot of concrete and gravel... but they did a nice thing making a series of "falls" that are kid friendly for climbing over and building dams over, etc. It really is just a street sewer run-off grate that tumbles down a bit of a sandstone that then leads to this elaborate man-made falls system. But... both Mason and his friend Dalton spent two HOURS just clamboring and spalshing and generally doing boy stuff in the woods.
At one point, the boys were tossing rocks into a big pool, and Dalton said, "This is great! I've never done this before!"
At first I thought, "Are you kidding?" Then it occurred to me that, you know, this is what that book LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS is talking about. It used to be, in the days of much more undeveloped property, that it wasn't far for a boy or girl to roam before they found some hidden creek or whatever where they could just do unstructured play. Those days you could just roam, too. No parent had to accompany you everywhere. Now, you have to have a play date, and then usually it's off to some clean, "safe" park with rules about what you can and can't do. Why would someone in this day and age have had an opportunity to just throw rocks into the water? (Rock throwing is usually a no-no. It's specifically not allowed on our beach, Lake Josephine, for instance.)
I'm glad Mason and I were able to share that moment of discovery with Dalton. And I'm super glad his mom packed Gatorade. I'd meant to bring along water, but I totally spaced because Mason and I ended up playing laptop pinball right up to the moment we were meant to pick Dalton up. (I'd thought I might stop at the store to get bottled water at least, but time had run out.)
Anyway, it was a great day. I also had a wonderful time at Wyrdsmiths last night. We all got quite carried away, as we often do, brainstorming improvements for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
naomikritzer's already pretty awesome story. There were arguements about pterasaurs and Thunderbirds and a whole boatload of awesome. It didn't inspire me specifically, just generally. I was reminded why I love those guys and why I keep going to Wyrdsmiths.
At one point, the boys were tossing rocks into a big pool, and Dalton said, "This is great! I've never done this before!"
At first I thought, "Are you kidding?" Then it occurred to me that, you know, this is what that book LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS is talking about. It used to be, in the days of much more undeveloped property, that it wasn't far for a boy or girl to roam before they found some hidden creek or whatever where they could just do unstructured play. Those days you could just roam, too. No parent had to accompany you everywhere. Now, you have to have a play date, and then usually it's off to some clean, "safe" park with rules about what you can and can't do. Why would someone in this day and age have had an opportunity to just throw rocks into the water? (Rock throwing is usually a no-no. It's specifically not allowed on our beach, Lake Josephine, for instance.)
I'm glad Mason and I were able to share that moment of discovery with Dalton. And I'm super glad his mom packed Gatorade. I'd meant to bring along water, but I totally spaced because Mason and I ended up playing laptop pinball right up to the moment we were meant to pick Dalton up. (I'd thought I might stop at the store to get bottled water at least, but time had run out.)
Anyway, it was a great day. I also had a wonderful time at Wyrdsmiths last night. We all got quite carried away, as we often do, brainstorming improvements for
naomikritzer's already pretty awesome story. There were arguements about pterasaurs and Thunderbirds and a whole boatload of awesome. It didn't inspire me specifically, just generally. I was reminded why I love those guys and why I keep going to Wyrdsmiths.