Friday, May 21, 2010

GrowingUP: Wash Your Feet Before Bed!


Ok, raise of hands. How many of you are sick of hearing about my childhood? If you are just look away, cuz here comes another one. I think being outdoors has always been a part of my life. My infant and toddler years were spent in sunny San Diego. Many of my early days found us at the beach. I am told that my parents turned the playpen upside down on top of me, creating a bit of a cage, protecting me from the sun and preventing what would have likely been frequent attempts at escape. I happily played in the sand while my bottle, wrapped in aluminum foil, sat warming on a rock near the fire.
The remainder of my “growing up” years was spent in northern California. The mild climate afforded children the luxury of many blissful hours of outdoor play. An extravagance that seems to be disappearing. Days were whiled away digging in the dirt, climbing trees, fences and rocks, catching bugs, skipping rope, and just enjoying the natural part of our corner of suburbia. We would make huge forts in the large fields of weeds that surrounded our subdivision. The tall green stalks were soft and the tiny yellow flowers reached well above our heads. We would carefully smash down the plants to create the rooms for our pretend mansions. This even included bathrooms, but I will not go into detail on that. We played for hours, and when the streetlights came on begrudgingly dragged ourselves home, barefooted, bedraggled and begrimed, warranting the nightly admonition rarely needed nowadays to "wash your feet before bed."
As we got older the recreation became slightly more structured, but no less enjoyable. The Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Mendocino and Redwood Forests became our playgrounds. Hiking, camping and fishing kept us busy all day and ensured an appetite sufficient for even the most burnt of Dad's offerings and a sound night's sleep. Quality gear was either less available or less affordable back then (ok, Dad is a cheapskate) so we usually made do with what we could dig up at the Army Surplus store. We lugged around huge metal canteens, slept in leaky canvass tents and stopped frequently to patch blisters caused by salvaging last year's tennis shoes for hiking. Yards of medical tape and moleskin were expended and provided a patchwork of stories on our feet to tell of our adventures. I had the privilege of connecting to the earth and to myself through my natural surroundings at an early age. It is natural that I would do my best to pass the love of outdoors along to my children.
This is not as easy as it used to be. My husband and I have to work more diligently than our parents ever did to ensure that our four children are raised with adequate time in the sun. The draw of technology, no matter how we limit it, is strong. Schoolwork demands more of their home time than ours ever did. It sometimes takes conscious planning and a bit of effort to get out there. Good gear helps make sure the kidos are comfortable and more willing to go with us...no more leaky tents. One of our first campouts with the kids helped ensure I would be well outfitted for outside with Hunky Hubby in charge. The kids were 3 and 1 and it rained all night. The tent leaked and the oldest threw up S'mores all over the bottom of the wet tent. We spent the rest of the evening NOT sleeping in the van. We have had waterproof tents ever since. The point is, we have to get out there with them. Even if it is the backyard. Not too hard. So the dishes and the vacuuming go undone sometimes. So what? We must "Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair." Kalil Gibran said that. So Go! Get those feet dirty, just remember to wash them before bed...
Quote of the Day: "You must love the crust of the earth on which you dwell more than the sweet crust of any bread or cake; you must be able to extract nutriment out of a sand heap." --Henry David Thoreau

21 comments:

  1. Oh the days of running around outside with bare feet! I think I used to disappear outside for HOURS at a time. Half the time, I don't think my mom even knew where I was. Sometimes I just curse the T.V. and computer. It's sucking away all the imagination in the world!

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  2. Kids need to play outside more! http://secretsofmom.blogspot.com/2010/05/helping-your-kids-to-discover-outdoors.html

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  3. Darn technology. I have 4 boys and one girl and so the pull is so strong with my boys. But once we get them outside, whether at a park or in a tree, on a bike or in the mud, they love it! Great post!!
    (Found you on Mormon Mommy Blogs. My hubs is Deaf and I am an interpreter. I saw that you love ASL. Small world!!)
    stef @
    http://fiverreasonstosmile.blogspot.com/

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  4. I love this post!! I am going to show it to my husband next time he coments about my dirty feet. I hate to wear shoes. I once even took my shoes off during stake conference and then was called impromptu to speak. I was so nervous I couldn't get them on so I ran up there barefooted!

    And I love the stories of your childhood, but even better, your children (and grandchildren . . . ) will love them even more the older they get. And then they will "call you blessed" because of the influence you and your writings will have on them. :-)

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  5. I remember my mom "tsk tsk"ing the state of my feet and washing them for me with a wash cloth before letting me into her bed to cuddle. It was a great childhood.

    I'm lucky that we live in a place with a huge shared backyard where all the kids can run wild until dark! I'll be sad when we move back to the states in a year. It's not nearly as safe as it is here.

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  6. Puking kids in a wet tent. Sounds awesome! :)

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  7. I agree with "The Story of Life" person. TV's and computers are sucking all imagination away. Love your post. :) M.

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  8. Love that Thoreau quote too!

    Happy AlphabeThursday Green,

    LOLA:)

    PS My AlphabeThursday Green is posted if you can join me… HERE!

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  9. My kids grew up in South Florida where they never ever wore shoes unless they were in school or church! You are so wise in making sure your children get some time in the great outdoors.

    Thanks for stopping by...

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  10. It really is important for our kids to connect with nature. And I agree that parents almost have to make that happen now, where it used to happen automatically. Great post.

    =)

    PS. I remember that army surplus hiking and camping equipment. How did we survive lugging that stuff around?!

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  11. PPS. And it was awful when canvas gear got wet, too.

    =)

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  12. I can't wait to take JDaniel to the beach next month and let him feel the sand between his toes.

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  13. It's sad that our kids can't enjoy those same kinds of play. The kind where in the summer you were out the door when the sun came up and not home until the street light came on. What an excellent post.

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  14. i am definitely a bare feet kinda gal...what wonderful memories you are making with your children.

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  15. No, I don't mind you writing about your childhood. No. I thoroughly enjoyed this post. It even has a 'red thread', I mean the dirty feet...
    What a happy time!
    Makes be want to return to my childhood -- at least in my dreams...
    Best wishes,
    Anna

    Anna's Rainbow Greens

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  16. I will soon be 66 and have lived in the San Francisco area almost 33years now. I was born in Georgia, though, and went barefoot much of my younger years. I still do. People are always admonishing me to put my shoes on. It just feels so natural to me to be without shoes. The second I'm home, my feet are bare - even though it's a bit colder here than summer in Georgia!

    My poetry book - Life's Journey by Carmen Henesy - is out on Amazon
    ( Poems about the things that have been important to me in my journey through life, some humorous, some sad, some that may have meaning to you as well )
    http://www.amazon.com/Lifes-Journey-1-Carmen-Henesy/dp/1451547366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274652997&sr=1-1

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  17. I hope technology doesn't get the better of my children...I try hard to find the right balance.

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  18. Barefoot.

    Oh, one of my favorite things.

    This was such a cute and clever link to Rainbow Summer School's color GREEN!

    I smiled throughout my entire visit here.

    Thank you for linking.

    A+

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  19. They do say that children are nature deprived now, it keeps cropping up in the news. So sad, such a waste of a childhood. However hard work it may be for the parents, surely it's got to be worth it. Dirty feet and all. :)

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