I lost my mother and grandmother at an early age. They both died far too soon for me and my siblings. I have fond memories of both my mother and her mother. Though I miss both of them terribly even now; I am blessed to remember the fun times. As a child I was tattletale. You could rest assured, if there was something I should not tell I would find a way to tell it. My grandmother did have eyes in the back of her head, only they looked like my mouth. My fondest childhood memories are of times my mother took the five of us to my grandparents' home in North Philadelphia. There was no better place to visit. Their home sat above the variety store they owned in a rough section of North Philadelphia. This was a place of wild imaginings and adventures for me and my siblings. My younger brothers and I could pretend to be invisible but in our family the adults knew every step we made-we could never get by with anything.
My mother believed in playing with us. We played card games like; go fish, patty pat, and five hundred. Board games and all types of crafting stuff were constant past-times in our household. There were not televisions in every room this allowed us to watch television together and have our viewing monitored appropriately. I remember begging my mother to let me watch the Alfred Hitchcock movie, “The Birds.” My mother warned me that I would be scared and unable to sleep but she relented after my incessant crying and claims of being old enough to handle the movie. I am scared of birds today…pigeons have a clear path as far as I am concerned. Wanting to watch the movie, with my mom and older siblings was a rite of passage for me. It proved in my small imaginings that I was able to have big time fun.
As parents my husband and I promote family nights, it is fun time for us and our now adult children. Movie night is full of goodies and good conversation. It is still a good cheap date in our house. In my closest there is Bingo, Scrabble, and of course several reliable decks of playing cards. My family photo albums are full of photos that capture outings to parks, museums, beaches, and amusement parks. These are moments that can never be traded or erased. Both my husband and I come from backgrounds of families which understood the value of finding time to have fun with the kids.
No matter what the cost take the time to do fun things with your children regardless if they are young children or adults. You will add years to your life and memories that will not fade. Check your local papers, community postings, church and social calendars for suitable events to patronize. Visit the video rental and pick movies that you all can enjoy and make a night of it. This is a tech savvy world buy some extra controls for the PlayStation or Wii or whatever game system then get in touch with the need for fun. You will find that your stress level decreases-as you learn how to make time to have family fun.
