Black Friday

     I hope everyone survived Black Friday without a scratch.  I have to admit I didn’t go shopping and I’m ok with that.  Things like television and shopping make me think I need things I really don’t need.  It also makes my kids think they need things they don’t need too.

     I  know our kids have way more things than necessary.  Boxes of toys fill their closets and they rarely have time to play with what they have.  I think back to the type of toys I had and the video games that were available back then and I have to laugh and cringe at the same time.

     For me it started with the game Pong, I think that’s what it was called.  Just the tennis game on our television set, not too thrilling.  Then there was Galaga where you shot at bees, or centipede where the object of the game was to destroy the centipede or Pac Man.  These days the games are realistic and violent, not like a kangaroo punching apples as they fall from the sky.  We haven’t purchased any video games for our kids and hope we never will. 

     Luckily for us we have an entertaining backyard.  I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I was raising my kids in a city.  Where would they play and what would they do?  Concrete parks and man-made fountains instead of real waterfalls? 

      I’m Thankful I have the opportunity to raise my kids in the wilderness.  I’m hoping they will continue to be entertained with the natural wonders of this world we live in and not yearn for the material things that are so easily replaced.