Wednesday, August 3, 2011

keep it simple

reagan and I were outside today playing with her jumbo fun water tower thingy.


or should I say: I was playing with the jumbo fun water tower thingy while she played with a wet paper towel.

I've learned that when it comes to a one year old, as long as it wont hurt them, let them have it. or maybe because I'm the aunt that's my mentality. either way, I was cleaning something and she grabbed from me. she soon learned that she could suck the water out of the paper towel...the coolest thing ever.

leaving all her fun toys behind.

it's a joke in our family that we spend a bunch of money on all these fancy toys (like dancing Mickey Mouse and water toys) for her to play with measuring spoons...or in this case a wet paper towel.

as I watched her playing and talking to herself (oh my gosh, baby talk is the best) I started to think about all the stuff we have.

the stuff we love, the stuff we don't think we could live without...when we really can.

I sat wondering if we just got back to the simplicity of life...and if that's even possible for those of us in 2011. can you even remember what simple living is?
when you didn't have a cell phone constantly in your hand? when you went day without watching tv? when you actually walked to the store instead of drove?

or, are we the generations who wont even be able to remember back in those days?

there's no denying technology plays a huge role in our society today...and I think we deserve it. ok maybe not me typing away, but the people who have created all this for me. they worked hard. technology should advance.

but somewhere along the lines we stopped with the simple and moved right into complicated. because technology is complicated at times.

there's no doubt in my mind I'll have beautiful babies one day, but what's it going to be like for them?

after kindergarten will it be the norm to have a cell phone?
when they enter middle school will they get a facebook? (remember when it was just for college kids?)
and will 'playing outside' be a foreign language to them?

I was beyond blessed to have tough parents. at times I wanted to run away, but they taught me how to be a kid and what it meant to love the simple things.

call me old fashioned but why does anyone need a cell phone before the enter high school?

all these fancy things are blessings, we don't need them, but we have them.

but what if we spent less time with them. and more with each other.

I know reagan doesn't play with the simple things on purpose, but I'm glad she does. it's teaching me a lesson.

what if instead of always buying the newest and greatest we stuck with what we have. what if we spent more time outside enjoying the day instead of inside onthe computer or in front of the tv?
there's a lot out there that we're missing. too much to even begin to make a list.
God didn't create this beautiful earth for us to fill it with junk. He filled it with beauty to be enjoyed.

I should insert here that I'm talking to myself as well.


so lets all start playing with wet paper towels and be content with whats simple in life.



5 comments:

Rachael L. Anderson said...

I love this post! I have cousins ranging from age 10-15 and they never play outside! Makes me so sad. They just play video games and on their phones. The 10 year old just got a laptop and now she wants an iPad. Insane!

Anonymous said...

ah, yes, simplicity!

thank you for stopping by my blog <3

Anonymous said...

This is a great post! It's so true that a lot of things are taken for granted. (I definitely don't think kids should have cell phones before high school!)

katilda said...

I adore this! I have simple dreams myself... Fruit trees, tree houses, sprinklers, snow cones and a pet pig...

Holly said...

Thanks for following and commenting!! So glad you are a Tribe fan, too :-D

Your blog is really great, I'm a new follower!

 
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