Oklahoma City family fun can be simple.
“When can I go on a Ferris wheel?” My oldest son, Sam, flipped through MetroFamily’s September edition and landed on our article about the upcoming Oklahoma State Fair.
Sam is 8 and I realized he has never actually been on a Ferris wheel.
He also hadn’t played Candy Land or Clue until just this past weekend. I’m not sure why we skipped over what to me were staples of childhood: basic board games. We play dominoes frequently and there’s Monopoly Jr. but classics like Boggle, Sorry and Pictionary are completely new.
“There’s an app for those. I see them in the Apple Store all the time. Can we just download them?”
No, we can’t, is my answer. I do not want to download them, for the same reason I’m all for finding that Ferris wheel. There is value in the tangible, finding something and making an afternoon of it. Dealing with frustration and disappointment can be life lessons too.
We’ll probably have a great time but maybe not and that’s okay. Rainy days, sold-out attractions, the line starts here: it’s all an experience.
I want to make the memory together, get out and go do something. I love routine and I do like my digital devices but real life can’t get lost in the shuffle.
We’ve already done a lot of things, including travel and museum visits, but there are simple pleasures left to discover. Our new car commute game is identifying what shapes we see in clouds. It’s not a big deal and there’s no cost but I see imaginations at work.
Diversity of experiences is part of growing up, arguably as important as fresh air, sunshine, nourishing food, adequate sleep and other, similar issues touted as the building blocks of childhood this past week and pretty much every week in the news.
So let’s go pick a pumpkin off the vine, ride a horse, eat a banana split. Go to the Fair. Throw pennies into a fountain. Ride on a parade float, rake leaves and jump in the pile.
Childhood needs a bucket list. What will yours include?
That’s actually ours and it’s a work in progress.
Need ideas? Click here for 15 places to visit before your child turns 15.
Have a suggestion? Tell us! Email callie@metrofamilymagazine.com. It just might be featured here.
