"My Connections to Play"

Quotes:
You can't stop the future, you can't rewind the past, the only way to learn the secret, ...is to press play.
Jay Asher

Time is a game played beautifully.
Heraclitus

Play is the highest form of research.
Albert Einstein

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, but when I became a man I put away my childish things.
I Cor 13:11

Monkey see, Monkey do...
Practice makes perfect...
Never judge a book by it's cover..

People supported play when I was growing up in pretty much the same way all over town.  There was a neighborhood theory, “It takes a village to raise a child”.  That phrase was used and understood by the adults and the children in the neighborhood.  It meant that if you were doing something wrong anyone in the neighborhood was free to correct you with your parents’ permission.  However, when your parents heard about it, you were getting another spanking when they arrived at home later.  Play was very much encouraged.  We mostly played outdoors with no toys.  It was understood that whenever my parents had company, we were to go outside (if the weather permit).  We were not allowed in the room when grown folk were talking.  When we went outside, we played games like: hopscotch, red light green light 123, red rover red rover, mother may I, Simon says, and many other games that required no toys.  Or either we made up our own toys, for example “telephone was a game that we used a toilet paper roll and a piece of string to pretend to speak to the person on the other end.  I enjoyed going to the park because my favorite thing to do was swing, and go down the slide.  Daddy spent time with me outside in the garden teaching my how to plant flowers.  Mommy loved to have standard tea parties with me so that we could discuss the latest gossip.  Finally, my brothers and I loved to pick up worms and snails and other animals that made my mommy upset. 

Play is different today than it was when I was a child for several different reasons.  First, if you use the village theory that I mentioned earlier, you might get cursed out.  People tend to get upset these days when you discipline their children.  Children no longer know how to play outside, nor do they like it.  Therefore, they are not made to pay outside.  Either it is too hot in the summer, or too cold in the winter.  They prefer games like the Wii, angry birds, or their tablets.  For example, recently in South Carolina we had some snow days where the children were unable to come to school.  When they returned I asked them to write in their journals about the fun things that they did in the snow.  Instead, several children told me that their mom or dad had them on Facebook looking at the snow.  Why were they not outside playing in the snow, because we do not get it often?  The parent could have provided an entire lesson on how snow feels looks, tastes, etc.  Instead, for most children it was supposedly too cold to go outside. 

Throughout my life play was encouraged in more ways than one.  My job was to play.  I performed my job well.  Although, I grew up with two older brothers and no sisters, I still loved playing.  I did not do a lot of girly things; I mostly played football, basketball, climbed trees and played with bugs.  But, all of this was very enjoyable for me.  My mom never stopped me or even tried to redirect my play to more female things. I loved the fact that she just allowed me to be myself.  I feel fortunate to have had the upbringing that I had and blessed to have been in a family with love and acceptance.