I thought this when my son and I were taking a walk. I was walking, he was on his scooter along the sidewalks of deserted, climate controlled suburbia. He attempted to climb a tree but at 3'3" wasn't able to make much progress when I thought, how sad it is that kids don't do much kids stuff anymore. Play dates, soccer games, ballet class are what kids' lives are made of. How unnatural.
I remember how games were so different when we were little. We made up stuff, TVs seldom worked and anyway in India while I was growing up we had all of one channel that was specially programmed to be especially boring.
And so thinking of all such things, I decided to be different. My son said our car was dirty so I said lets wash it. Lets get our hands dirty too. We got out a couple buckets and began scrubbing. He with a nice soft cloth, I with my scotch brite (I know you're wincing, I know). I wanted to get rid of all the hardened muck you see, efficient housewife that I am and I did. We soaped, rinsed, my son got nice and dirty. Very organic. The car was wiped clean and suddenly the result of my organic activity was apparent. I had ruined the paint on the car. The muck was all gone and so was much of the sheen on the paint. It looks like someone had angrily scraped against the side of the vehicle again and again and again.
So folks, I am all for soccer classes and organized childhood now. And yes, car washes too. Even if have to wait for an hour to get it done.
No more unplanned activities, for this mum anyway. The paint job on the car (if it cannot be buffed) will cost as much as the old car is worth. They say going organic is expensive, don't they? Why didn't I listen?
4 comments:
I love the way you write, Ranjini! Ill definitely keep checking in on the blog :)
Scotch Brite? Too abrasive, my dear; however, this blog is anything but abrasive :-) Keep writing and I'll keep reading!
Good news. I found a scratch remover on amazon that has taken out all but the worst scratches of our misjudged exercise.
This is something I keep thinking of all the time ... but there are days that give me hope ...
One fine texas-sunny evening, we take the kids to the park - as always, make sure the little bike's clean with the helmet and stuff. I get the older one going on it, turn around - and the little one, who's just a year old is sitting in the dirt, has found a patch that has some water left over from the previous day's rains - and has covered his face, hair, feet .. almost every part of his body with dirt. My dad_sense tells me that I should pick him up, wash his hands, put some sanitizer on etc. But, its such a lovely sight, that I just keep staring mesmerized ! and that's when I know that there's still some hope - my kids might after all grow up as kids should ... then the spell is broken - he tries to 'taste' some of the dirt, and I rush to stop him. Kids want to be kids, maybe its me who's making that difficult for them !
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