Simplicity at it's Finest

It's Saturday. It's a lazy Saturday. It's a day where my children are running around being silly. There isn't a specific schedule we are adhering to. There's nothing pressing to do besides making sure food is on the table and the simplest of things like sweeping and vacuuming is done. Today is a day where I have High School Musical playing on Paul's computer for the kids and I have Anne of Green Gables playing on the TV for me. I've tried to get them to enjoy Anne, but low and behold, there is nothing more exciting than teenagers dancing and singing to a great, enticing, addicting beat.

As I have grown older and my children are getting bigger, I have struggled as a mother, to decide how I want to raise my children. Raising children isn't as easy as smiling at a camera and saying, "cheese." It's full of questions, doubt, more questions and more doubt. Of course, it's also full of fun, laughter and tons of giggles. But something that I've found is that this world is complicated. So, so, so complicated. For instance, the other day, Paul sold one of his phones online and he sent it to the guy. The guy wrote a review and told him he was buying the phone for his five year old nephew. FIVE. Five years old guys! Who lets their five year old have a phone, and a nice one at that? I'm not talking about a little flip phone with just the ability to call out and get calls. I'm talking about a nice, touch screen, new fangled phone with all the new specs on it, with the ability to access the Internet and social media. My own four year old son has already been obsessed with our iPhones and have wanted us to buy him one. Let me tell you, my answer was a resounding no. But that doesn't stop the complications of raising him in a world where it is just assumed that those things are ok and acceptable. I'll give you a glimpse into my thought life on this one subject....

"Ok, so when he goes to school, if he doesn't have a phone and all his friends do, will he be bullied? Well, it shouldn't matter. I'm the parent. I don't think it's best for him to have one. But what if he gets depressed? We've all seen the horrible effects of bullying. Some kids commit suicide. My heart would break if my kid did that just because he didn't have a phone. But what if he accident accesses pornography. Or what if someone stalks him and he disappears in the middle of the night?"

So that is just part of my thought process. It's one of millions of things my thoughts go in circles about. Then today, I started watching Anne of Green Gables and my heart yearned for the simpler days where enjoyment came from making flower wreaths for our hair, and swimming/fishing/riding bikes were the thrill. I wish that running three legged races were more common and walking through fields arm in arm were what was peaceful. But in today's world, our phones, computers, tv's and computer games are what occupies us. Our children think that playing with guns and soldiers are what is thrilling. They think that dressing up as Miss America and having waists the size of a pencil is what is attractive. Where did we stray from enjoying cows, chickens, flowers and fishing? Why has those things become "special occasions" and "uncommon?"As a parent, I wish we could enjoy simplicity at it's finest all the time instead of it being something we do on vacation or on a camping trip. So as a parent, I am trying to find that balance to bring those things back as common and usual. I want to raise my children where they're ok with not having all the new fangled things the world is full of, yet live in harmony with those who do have those things. I hope to raise them to enjoy having some meat on their bones (not fat, not unhealthy, just not being stick thin) and to enjoy flowers, water, bicycles and fishing. I hope to raise them to enjoy the older things, the things of the past, because back in those days, people's lives weren't so complicated or stressed.

Raising children in today's world is full of different opinions and thoughts. But I think most of us could agree that raising children to enjoy life with simple things would be good. Happy parenting, mamas!