Like a Hawk
My son loves playing outside. When I tell him to come inside it is like I am telling him to walk the plank or something. I do understand his love of the outdoors though. Way back when in the late 70's and 80's I had that same love for the outside. I would stay outside all day in the summer time with my sister and cousins. I think that my mom preferred it that way most of the time and so did my aunt. But, when it was time to come in it was just time and nobody liked it but nobody did any pouting or moping around or mumbling certain words that we weren't allowed to say under our collective breaths. We did as we were told. When those street lights came on we better be in the house ten seconds later. We knew that if we didn't that we would be in big trouble and not be allowed to go out and play the next day. Those were the days.
Flash forward to about 30 years later. Now, it is my son's turn to play outside with the neighborhood kids. But, it is a whole lot different. I have to almost shadow his every move, almost. I tell him that he has to stay in front of the house where I can see him and he can see me if I go out to the front porch and he definitely has to stay in hearing and running distance to the house if he needs to run inside. Most of the kids he plays with have brothers, sisters, or cousins that kind of watch each other's back but he is an only child and really doesn't have that kind of support and is not really close to any of them to be treated like kin folks. So, therefore I am a little too protective sometimes with his outside activities. The neighbors aren't like the neighbors that I grew up with. When I grew up they all looked out for you. If you were doing something that you weren't supposed to they told on you and you got in trouble. Now, these neighbors could actually care less unless you bump their car playing ball accidently, or you are a little too loud when they are trying to read inside their homes or you are disturbing them in another way then they might look out of their collective doors to tell you to be more quiet and even that is a long shot and doesn't happen too often. Around here to each their own. It saddens me to a point to see this. I am more old school I guess. If I see a child doing something that is wrong I will tell him and tell his parents. The parents don't seem to mind me telling them but neither are they anywhere in sight when their kids are all over the neighborhood for hours at a time.
So, I went to check on my son as I do like every 5-10 minutes just to check to see what he is doing and whom he is doing it with so his friend says to him, "Oh there's your mom AGAIN." and he made a face like he was going to faint. I just smiled and said, "Yes it is me again and I will be back again, and again and again if that is what it takes to keep you all safe." The look on his face was a Kodak moment. I don't think he expected that answer. Nor did I expect to give him one. I guess one of the drawbacks of apartment living is that since there is no backyard or front yard that it makes it harder to play where you are supposed to play. But, nothing I can really do about that right now but tell him where he can and can't play and watch him like a hawk. Some day he might thank me for it. Maybe. Or at least tell his children how granny was when he was 9 when they are 9.
Flash forward to about 30 years later. Now, it is my son's turn to play outside with the neighborhood kids. But, it is a whole lot different. I have to almost shadow his every move, almost. I tell him that he has to stay in front of the house where I can see him and he can see me if I go out to the front porch and he definitely has to stay in hearing and running distance to the house if he needs to run inside. Most of the kids he plays with have brothers, sisters, or cousins that kind of watch each other's back but he is an only child and really doesn't have that kind of support and is not really close to any of them to be treated like kin folks. So, therefore I am a little too protective sometimes with his outside activities. The neighbors aren't like the neighbors that I grew up with. When I grew up they all looked out for you. If you were doing something that you weren't supposed to they told on you and you got in trouble. Now, these neighbors could actually care less unless you bump their car playing ball accidently, or you are a little too loud when they are trying to read inside their homes or you are disturbing them in another way then they might look out of their collective doors to tell you to be more quiet and even that is a long shot and doesn't happen too often. Around here to each their own. It saddens me to a point to see this. I am more old school I guess. If I see a child doing something that is wrong I will tell him and tell his parents. The parents don't seem to mind me telling them but neither are they anywhere in sight when their kids are all over the neighborhood for hours at a time.
So, I went to check on my son as I do like every 5-10 minutes just to check to see what he is doing and whom he is doing it with so his friend says to him, "Oh there's your mom AGAIN." and he made a face like he was going to faint. I just smiled and said, "Yes it is me again and I will be back again, and again and again if that is what it takes to keep you all safe." The look on his face was a Kodak moment. I don't think he expected that answer. Nor did I expect to give him one. I guess one of the drawbacks of apartment living is that since there is no backyard or front yard that it makes it harder to play where you are supposed to play. But, nothing I can really do about that right now but tell him where he can and can't play and watch him like a hawk. Some day he might thank me for it. Maybe. Or at least tell his children how granny was when he was 9 when they are 9.
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