Do We Have To????

It seems like one of the hot topics people are talking about these days is the inactivity of our children. Everywhere you look kids now have hand held games and Playstations and Wii's. If they're not playing with those they are staring at the television. My husband thinks our kids are addicted to these things, but after a short time they want to play outside. My son is really into sports so he'll go outside and shoot some hoops or catch a football. My daughter likes TV a little more but turns it off if there is a possiblity to go out and play. They also like books. One of my son's favorite memories of camp last summer was laying in the hammock reading. My daughter will sometimes sit on the couch reading. By today's standards I think they are doing quite well.

Last weekend we decided to go up to our camp in the Adirondacks. This was greeted with whining and complaining since they had never been there before in the winter. When we told them we were the decision makers they packed their clothes along with their game boys and books. Our camp is not insulated, but we have a gas fireplace. There is no running water in the winter and our driveway is full of snow.

"Hey, guys", I said enthusiastically from the front seat of the car, "just think of this as an adventure". I was greeted with blank stares. Having been there is the winter when I was 13, I knew they would have a good time.

We arrived there Saturday morning and had to park at the end of our driveway because of the snow. We all had to pitch in to get our supplies out of the truck and into the old camp. This was not easy since there was no path through the snow, but we slowly got everything inside.

The camp was freezing There was frost on all the windows inside. My husband turned the propane on and the stove was soon warming the kitchen.

After we got settled the kids put on their snowsuits and went outside. Our place in on a hill so it was perfect for sledding. Since the lake was frozen they could slide down and keep going on the solid ice. I think they were surprised at how much fun it was. As they were sliding I saw two deer run across the lake to one of the islands.

After a few runs the kids wanted to walk across the lake. They were amazed that this was possible since they had never seen anything like this before. We walked over to one of the closer islands and looked around. We had only seen this island from our place and from the water when we were in our boat. Our kids walked faster than us and sat right on the edge of the island.

"Hey look!" they said, "we're the first ones in our family to ever set foot on this island!" They were right. Since it is privately owned we had never gone there in the summer. However in the middle of winter it was empty. The quiet was strange. We're used to the sound of the lake as the winds blow over it. Not long after, they went back to the sled run.

After veering off the course a few times my husband started shoveling snow on each side to keep the sleds on track. White dog and little brown dog were unwilling passengers on the sleds. They looked pleadingly at me as they flew down the hill.

After a while I went inside to organize all of our stuff. Since there is no insulation we closed the doors to the bedrooms and living room to keep the heat in the kitchen. The cramped quarters were not conducive to keeping things neat, but I did my best.

My daughter came in first. Her feet were soaking wet. I helped her take off all of the layers and got her dry clothes. There was long dog rope in the kitchen so I made a make-shift clothesline. It was filled quickly with wet snowclothes. My son came in later and the kitchen looked even more like a boarding house.

Since there was no running water the bathroom was unavailable. This didn't seem to bother the kids. They were thrilled to go outside and experience the joys of nature when answering nature's call.

The next day they couldn't wait to get up and keep sledding. I was watching them for a while when I suggested we make a snow fort. They had gotten those plastic snow block makers for Christmas and the snow was perfect for packing.

I started building the fort layer by layer. I must admit I was having a great time but they soon grew bored and went to go sledding again. I kept building for a while until my back and legs got tired.

The kids complained when they saw me go into the camp, but I promised them I would be out again later. Once inside I put on dry clothes and sat next to the fire. I had brought a knitting project I never had time for at home and sat knitting in the peaceful camp. I kept waiting for them to come in for dry clothes but it never happened.

I went outside to check on them. "Where's dad?", I asked.

"He's in the hammock", was the reply.

I looked under the deck and there he was. His eyes were closed as he quietly swung from side to side in his parka, boots and gloves. He claimed to be watching the kids, but that's not what I called it. It was good to see him so relaxed.

By afternoon we had to make the kids come in and get ready to go home. They were inconsolible.

"Can't we take tomorrow off and stay one more day?", they implored. That was quite a switch from the complaining the day before.

"We'll come back again", we assured them.

It reminded me of my childhood when we stayed outside and played all day in the snow. We'd be outside for hours and only came in when we were soaked or hungry. Those were the days when children loved to be playing all of the time and not staring at handheld games or TV's. While we were at camp they didn't want to come in to play their Game Boys. They only watched videos when it was dark out.

Our society wonders why our children have become overweight. It seems obvious to me why. They don't move enough and they are snacking on high calorie foods. It's sad to think in the future a lot of them will only have memories of sitting and winning at Playstation. Personally I don't find that very appealing. I'm hoping my kids can look back and have real childhood memories.

I just wish parents would think about this and realize that they aren't doing their children any favors with all of that high priced technology. All of that knowledge can come later but once childhood is over, there's no going back to that time of innocence and wonder.

What a waste.