Purpose of this Blog
"Adventure will show up wherever you look for it." Walt Disney
No one ever remembers their best day of television, unless that day involves a game 7 walk off grand slam to steal the World Series. Television was in my house, but it wasn't a staple like it is today. My mom would tell us go outside and don't come back 'til it's time for dinner. I remember vividly an old pine tree in my grandma's yard that served as our fort. Sometimes it served as home base for tag and sometimes it served as our own personal jungle gym. Either way, it's a place that I will always hold near and dear to my heart. Every child in the neighborhood new about that neighborhood and the sanctuary it provided if your parents were looking for you.
Summertime was another story. Early on in my life, my parents owned a 4 person pull behind that generated more memories than you could ever imagine. Fishing trips, biking through campgrounds, and who could forget hunting trips every fall chasing squirrels through the Kinzua forest. Occasionally, during the summer I'd hop into my grandparents old Pontiac and we'd head for camp that they owned. About 3 acres of heaven that butted up against the Allegheny National Forest. Campfires, s'mores, and countless hikes through the woods were enough to cleanse any soul. Numerous trips were spent hoping to encounter a whitetail deer or even better, a black bear.
The point of these stories is that, for today's child, many of these memories are missing. Children spend more time on a tablet, smartphone or television than outside enjoying nature as God intended. I've seen many kids scared out of their minds at the site of a bug, or terrified if they get a splash of mud on their pants. All something I never would have encountered as a child.
I hope this blog will serve as a way to reconnect parents with their youthful ways and help them to disconnect their children from the plug and connect them into nature. Along the way, I'll also provide insights into things I have picked up as a parent. I'm not a perfect parent and quite honestly I need a lot of work. So I hope that you will join the Rugged Dad Outdoors as I try to shape my own parenting style and continue to connect my kids with nature. Along the way, I'll throw in some personal memories from my childhood that hopefully will connect with your own personal stories.
Will you join me for this ride? What was your favorite activity growing up? What is your fondest memory?
Our neighbor had junk cars at the end of his property including a 1940's Step Van, less motor. We made that our clubhouse, installing seats from other cars, painting with any paint we could find and adding any junk materials we could find in the woods, along the railroad tracks and in the industrial yards along the tracks. Made for good training for my habit of looking for junk to drag home and find a use for.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like an incredible child hood. My cousin's house was very much like that. He used to have a big dump truck in his yard. It was usually full of gravel and other fun materials, but we'd always use that as our home base for playing war.
Delete