Nothing

By Shruthi.

When we were kids, our music teacher asked us after a two-week long break, "What did you do in the break?"
"We played", we said, "We read books, we painted, we climbed trees, we went to summer camps..."
"Oh, I was hoping at least one of you would tell me that you did nothing", she said.
We stared at her open-mouthed.
"Nothing", she repeated, "As in, lying on the floor staring at the fan? Standing outside and observing the clouds? Lolling on the bed and looking at the patterns on the drapes? Or just staring at the ceiling all day? Did you do that?"
"Umm... err..." Was this a trick question? We did not know what to say.
"All that you did is important. But doing 'nothing' is also as important." She smiled. "You are too young to understand, but I'll just tell you that doing 'nothing' breeds creativity. Next time you are bored, try and do 'nothing'. And see how interesting it is."

I thought she was joking, but now I think she has a point.

Kids of today have their days full. So full that they don't have time to watch the clouds or look at the ladybird make its way across the lawn. And what is life without these little pleasures? What is learning and fun without admiring the world around you? Where is the time to let a child's little brain think and imagine and create by itself?

Perhaps we should encourage our kids to do 'nothing' this summer?!

Theme for June: Great Summer Experiences for the family

June is always a strange month -- the heat slows you down, but your social life tends to get rather crowded (picnics, trips out of town, camp plans for kids...) and it's sometimes easy to miss out on the pleasure of just vegging out in the summer. Tell us how you plan for summer - what do you do over the warm months (except for those in the antipodes!) to make sure you and the kids have a fun but inspiring time out of school. Do you opt for summer camps, in which case at what age do you start, and for how long do you go? If it's travel, what are the most child-friendly places you've been? etc.

In our case, we've been suffering a very hot turn of events in NYC - the kids were exhausted with the 96° F temperatures. We spent time in the park with friends, and the sprinklers and bubbles proved popular, but we're definitely planning on more days indoors!! July brings a couple of weeks in South America. I'll keep you posted on how that goes. I personally took a trip down memory lane with a visit to Oxford, and I think taking a couple of days to be with yourself in a fun, soothing environment did wonders for my spirit. The five days by myself at the reunion (where I spoke, we all hung out and chatted about life, etc.) really recharged my batteries. Try it some time -- I was lucky to have my parents visiting, so that I didn't worry about the kids at all (and hubby is great with them anyway!) I'm able to plan their summer better thanks to the breathing room I gave myself!

Share your best and worst summer experiences, lessons learned, and advice!

Roopa
http://rooparecipes.blogspot.com/