???
Holy hell, he's 5 years old!
I know this is the age of technology and i'm sure some children far younger than him are probably able to operate heavy machinery... but seriously?
I don't think i even knew what the internet was until i was 12 or 13? And i know that was during our time... but my childhood was all the better for it.
What is this generation called? Is there a name for them yet? I know the late 90's was Generation X. The New Millenium kids were a little strange, they were called Generation Y. What are our kids gonna be called? What is this new generation tagged as?
What kind of childhood will it be when all they do is compare video games or talk about who's seen what on the internet/tv? Kids are rarely seen outside riding their bikes. It's not something that they do. You know what i mean? We went out every single day to ride our bikes and play with the neighbors. It was a thing. That's what we did. Kids these days ride their bikes out if they feel like it. If someone is using their computer or if they're frustrated with a level they can't get past.
We all played with our imagination, made REAL friends with other kids, got dirty and scratched up. It was experience. It was living. It's what being a kid was all about. We ran til we couldn't run anymore. We played til our limbs were sore. There was no such thing as getting too dirty or being too sweaty. It was part of being a child. You get to clean up and worry about that when you grow up... and at that time, growing up was light years away. Unfathomable. 24 years old was deemed OLD.
Television was there. Sure. We had our programs and we watched our cartoons. But we didn't make a day out of it. We also couldn't sit still for too long because we'd see all the other kids playing outside and we wouldn't wanna miss out on all the fun everyone else was having. It worked out great.
I miss being a kid. I would gladly jump into a time machine and go back to being 10 years old. That was the life. All i had to do was do my homework and clean up after dinner. Do well in school and be nice to my siblings. Damn. If that's all i had to do these days, i'd be happy as a clam. Wow.
And all the drama you went through as a kid? Think back and see just how none-crazy all of it really was... it's really not that serious, right?
Parents have a way of just knowing when something is wrong. There was a time i was going through some kind of ordeal (can't recall what it was anymore- i guess it wasn't that terrible), and my Dad said, "It seems like a lot right now. But you'll realize it's not so bad... if i had to go back to high school, i'd be able to do everything all over again with my eyes closed".
I didn't get it then... but i certainly do now. I'll most likely be giving Dylan the same advice sometime in the distant future.
I brag about it all the time. I had the most incredible childhood. I am and will forever be grateful to my parents for giving me that. It has set my standards for happiness and it's the same thing i strive to provide for my very own son. Yes, to me, it's THAT important.
A childhood isn't a childhood if not for the real life adventures. The cuts and bruises and learning to use your human mechanics for all the glory it was meant for. The energy you were given at such a young age that slowly burns out with the years- don't waste it. It won't be there forever. The old and elderly are looking at the youth, shaking their heads and wondering- what happened?
It's just not like how it used to be.
I know these things are inevitable. Sure, it's part of evolution and you can't always control what happens in your kids' lives. I'll want to buy them a pair of shoes for quality and endurance that will last a few years at the least- and somehow, they'll insist on the latest fad that will probably break into shreds in about 2 and a half months. That's just how it goes. I know i did that when i was a kid.
I never thought i'd ever think of myself as old fashioned. I always thought i'd be very "with it". I guess as the times change and your values stay put, the world evolves and you become just that- old fashioned. I wonder what our grandparents think and how the elderly of the world feel? I'm only in my 20's.
I've always stood by my beliefs and taken pride of my values. I hold these very near and dear to me. I believe it's a part of building good character. And even if good guys finish last, and tales of heroism are at a minimum, and good people are hard to come by these days... it doesn't mean that we succumb to the ways of the cruel world just like that. You fight for it and stand up for it because this is what inspiration and admiration are made of. And if you give up now and let everything you dislike and disagree with take over... then what of your legacy and that of your children?
This is life. You have one chance to live it. One chance to make an impression. Why not make it a good one?
Everything begins with its foundation... i reckon it'd be a good idea to start there.
Don't you think?
***
The following was an e-mail i received months back. I remember it left such a good feeling with me that i even forwarded it to my dad to share it with him and at the same time thank him and let him know that he did an awesome job.
Some of it is written in Tagalog. It wouldn't be as good if it wasn't written that way, so i'm leaving it be. This is for us anyway... and growing up on this island was hands down, the dopest dope you have ever smoked. =p (grabbed that one from Sabrina. Thanks chicka. She's down with the jungalyness too.)
[it was originally printed in BOLD, size 32 font. Dunno how to do that on here, so bare with it]
FOR THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1950's, 60' s, 70's and early 80's !!
First, some of us survived being born to mothers who did not have an OB-Gyne and drank San Miguel Beer while they carried us.
While pregnant, they took cold or cough medicine, ate isaw,and didn't worry about diabetes.
Then after all that trauma, our baby cribs were made of hard wood covered with lead-based paints, pati na yung walker natin, matigas na kahoy din at wala pang gulong.
We had no soft cushy cribs that play music, no disposable diapers (lampin lang), and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, no kneepads , sometimes wala pang preno yung bisikleta.
As children, we would ride in hot un-airconditioned buses with wooden seats (yung JD bus na pula),or cars with no airconditioning & no seat belts (ngayon lahat may aircon na)
Riding on the back of a carabao on a breezy summer day was considered a treat.(ngayon hindi na nakakakita ng kalabaw ang mga bata)
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle purchased from 711 ( minsan straight from the faucet or poso)
We shared one soft drink bottle with four of our friends, and NO ONE actually died from this.Or contacted hepatitis.
We ate rice with star margarine, drank raw eggs straight from the shell, and drank softdrinks with real sugar in it (hindi diet coke), but we weren't sick or overweight kasi nga......
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, and get back when the streetlights came on. Sarap mag patintero, tumbang preso , habulan at taguan.
No one was able to reach us all day( di uso ang cellphone , walang beepers ). And yes, we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our wooden trolleys(yung bearing ang gulong) or plywood slides out of scraps and then ride down the street, only to find out we forgot the brakes! After hitting the sidewalk or falling into a canal (seweage channel) a few times, we learned to solve the problem ourselves with our bare & dirty hands .
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 100 channels on cable, no DVD movies, no surround stereo, no IPOD's, no cellphones, no computers, no Internet, no chat rooms, and no Friendsters. ...... ...WE HAD REAL FRIENDS and we went outside to actually talk and play with them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no stupid lawsuits from these accidents.The only rubbing we get is from our friends with the words..masakit ba ? pero pag galit yung kalaro mo... ang sasabihin sa iyo... "beh buti nga !"
We played marbles (jolens) in the dirt , washed our hands just a little and ate dirty ice cream & fish balls. we were not afraid of getting germs in our stomachs.
We had to live with homemade guns " gawa sa kahoy, tinali ng rubberband , sumpit , tirador at kung ano ano pa na puedeng makasakitan. .pero masaya pa rin ang lahat.
We made up games with sticks ( syatong ), and cans ( tumbang preso )and although we were told they were dangerous, wala naman tayong binulag o napatay, paminsan minsan may nabubukulan lang.
We walked, rode bikes, or took tricycles to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them to jump out the window!
Mini basketball teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't pass had to learn to deal with the disappointment. Wala iyang mga childhood depression at damaged self esteem ek-ek na yan. Ang pikon, talo.
Ang magulang ay nandoon lang para tingnan kung ayos lang ang mga bata, hindi para makialam at makipag-away sa ibang parents.
That generation of ours has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, creative thinkers and successful professionals ever! They are the CEO's, Engineers, Doctors and Military Generals of today.
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had failure, success, and responsibility. We learned from our mistakes the hard way.
You might want to share this with others who've had the luck to grow up as real kids. We were lucky indeed.
And if you like, forward it to your kids too, so they will know how brave their parents were.
It kind of makes you wanna go out and climb a tree, doesn't it?!
PS - The big letters are because your eyes may not be able to read this if they were typed any smaller (at your age).
***
I wouldn't change a thing.
...and no matter what anybody says- that sh*t was FUN.
[i realize after looking at the post as a whole- that is THE most jungaliest photo i have, but i absolutely LOVE IT. hahaha!]
What's YOUR favorite childhood memory?
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