I'm not a parent and I realize I'm lacking the "if I actually had a child, I'd think differently" belief, but it's of my own poor opinion that we have become an overly-padded society. I never think twice about wearing all of my gear when I get on my motorcycle, but bicycling down the street? Helmets for roller-blading? Come on. Grow some neck muscles. I wear my gear because I must (in my head)...motorcycling has the potential for extremely painful and/or deadly injuries, even at 30 miles an hour. But if you are struck retarded hitting the curb with your melon while riding a ten-speed, my friend, that's not irresponsible. That's survival of the fittest.
Growing up, I've gotten scars; my brother had chipped a tooth...in fact, a couple of times we've wounded each other permanently (thermostat to the scapula and alledged steak knife wound in the hand); this is stuff that just happens when you're growing up. Actually, all the scars have stories. There's the two-inch scar on my stomach from where my cat launched off me when I was high school age. I have a visible scar from where the kite string burned through the skin in my wrist in grade school when I was trying (unsuccessfully) to fly a kite down my street...a talent I seem to be lacking even now. My knees crunch audibly in yoga class...they don't hurt...I know one is crunchy from dislocating it long ago, not sure why the other one emulates.
Brother sports a scar under his chin from barreling down a hill on his face instead of his mountain bike. He likes to tell people that the hospital gave him internal stitches as well as external because there wasn't enough "meat" to close the wound. There's the one on his elbow from another sports-related incident.
We know how we "earned" all our scars, and yet, somehow we survived them all. We played in the dirt, we stomped in the rain puddles barefoot, we've thrown sand in each other's face. We didn't have anti-bacterial blahty-blah, HEPA yadda-yadda, anti-microbial schmala-schmal. We had chicken pox, colds, stomach flu (okay, maybe the world would be a better place without stomach flu...that really blows). I really believe that without the dirt, scum and bacteria around, we'd all be frail and asthmatic. I'm probably alone in this line of thinking, but I'm starting to see it in the children that are being raised around me. The ones who fall and go boom, skin a knee, get back up and move on are growing up healthier than the ones slathered in alcohol hand rub and living in Filtreted homes.
As I write this I realize, if I ever have kids, they're gonna be dirty as sin. ;-)
Growing up, I've gotten scars; my brother had chipped a tooth...in fact, a couple of times we've wounded each other permanently (thermostat to the scapula and alledged steak knife wound in the hand); this is stuff that just happens when you're growing up. Actually, all the scars have stories. There's the two-inch scar on my stomach from where my cat launched off me when I was high school age. I have a visible scar from where the kite string burned through the skin in my wrist in grade school when I was trying (unsuccessfully) to fly a kite down my street...a talent I seem to be lacking even now. My knees crunch audibly in yoga class...they don't hurt...I know one is crunchy from dislocating it long ago, not sure why the other one emulates.
Brother sports a scar under his chin from barreling down a hill on his face instead of his mountain bike. He likes to tell people that the hospital gave him internal stitches as well as external because there wasn't enough "meat" to close the wound. There's the one on his elbow from another sports-related incident.
We know how we "earned" all our scars, and yet, somehow we survived them all. We played in the dirt, we stomped in the rain puddles barefoot, we've thrown sand in each other's face. We didn't have anti-bacterial blahty-blah, HEPA yadda-yadda, anti-microbial schmala-schmal. We had chicken pox, colds, stomach flu (okay, maybe the world would be a better place without stomach flu...that really blows). I really believe that without the dirt, scum and bacteria around, we'd all be frail and asthmatic. I'm probably alone in this line of thinking, but I'm starting to see it in the children that are being raised around me. The ones who fall and go boom, skin a knee, get back up and move on are growing up healthier than the ones slathered in alcohol hand rub and living in Filtreted homes.
As I write this I realize, if I ever have kids, they're gonna be dirty as sin. ;-)
I'm feelin yah! I personally feel this subject is concurrent with all the excessive behaviors that are leading the US into this tailspin. And let's not forget that we'd be sure to cut the crust off the bread for our angelic spawn! "Oh honey, you don't want to eat that, let me make you whatever you want". Yeah right!!
ReplyDeletexo
First off- I love that your posting more.
ReplyDeleteSecond- I see how the other mom's glare at me when one of my boys is riding without the helmet and gear. I can feel myself shrinking from their judgemental glares. But! I'm a firm supporter of the chicken pox vaccination and the alcohol hand sanitizer. Especially after a trip to McDonalds! EW!
I don't mind them getting dirty but I don't want to spend my afternoon in the emergency room for them to get stitches or have strep throat over and over again. Or give it to me for that matter.