The Rush of Adrenaline

It’s one of those nights when it feels that the world is holding its breath. Maybe I am the one holding my breath. Perhaps we are all just a step away from some important change. Wouldn’t that be cool! More than likely I am just pausing somewhere between then, now and perhaps. I love this feeling!

Louise and I were talking tonight about how odd it was that there were so few kids sledding on the weekend when we took Hurricane and Tornado to the hill. There were fewer than few, if two can be less than few. The condition of the snow was perfect, the temperature was relatively warm and the wind although strong, didn’t really impact at all. The only reason we could think of is that the kids were inside watching TV or playing video games. Oh sure they could have been at church but that is something of a reach.

Kids just don’t play outside as much now as they once did. Perhaps it is the other options that they have to spend their time at. Maybe we have programmed them that they can’t enjoy play unless it is an officially sanctioned league of some sort with teams and expensive equipment. I think that we are scared shitless of letting the kids out for fear they will be captured by some psycho child molester or murderer. That’s a possibility of course and not one I would want to take a chance on, but even if that is the fear, then shouldn’t the parents go out with the kids?

Why should we be kept in prisons of our own making because there are about 115 kidnappings in the US each year? That is 115 out of about 60,000 kids, which although not an insignificant number, it is statistically small. If more parents actually did get out with their kids I imagine that number would drop. It wouldn’t hurt if the TV programmers stopped producing shows depicting these heinous crimes. I couldn’t find a statistic for how many kids were kidnapped while they were with mom and or dad, but I imagine it would be pretty small.

Times sure have changed. The parents back in the fifties and sixties told us to get out of the house and don’t come home until suppertime. We would wander all over the neighbourhood playing games, making snowmen, having snowball fights and every so often one of the moms would call us in for a cup of hot chocolate. I have only good memories of that time and parents played a part. We would go skating on the outdoor rink with dad and always meet a friend or two that were there with their dad. The rink wasn’t always in the best condition, but then neither were my skates.

 

Every now and then we would drive to some golf course and go tobogganing. I can’t remember the name of the course, but I sure do remember the hills. I can still remember the rush of adrenaline and the thrill of sliding down the hill totally out of control on my aluminum flying saucer. The only thing that gave you a bigger adrenaline rush was when you looked up and saw someone totally out of control on their flying saucer heading right for you at breakneck speed. Hot chocolate was the reward at the end of the day.

 

I realize that we can’t go back now that the genie is out of the bottle, but kids want to be kids and deep down I think that parents really want to be parents. It’s a match made in heaven and the times that families remember are more often than not the times spent out of doors as a family.