Simple Summers

If you're about my age, most likely, you spent your summers quite simply. You probably just lazed around the house, watched a little more TV, and that was it. For some summers, I remember my mom giving me a typing book and asking me to practice typing (in an age way before computers). More regularly, she would also ask our help to bring my brothers' books down from those boxes that have already been put away so I could go through them. Animal Farm, The Little Prince, For Whom the Bell Tolls -- you get the picture.

Nowadays, you hear about parents racking their brains about where to send their kids (even pre-schoolers) for the summer. Should they take arts and craft classes? Cooking lessons? Taekwondo? Name the skill, someone's offering it for the summer.

I guess life isn't that simple anymore. Kids get bored faster. Parents are working harder. With Cartoon Network, most parents fear that if we didn't give our kids more worthwhile things to do, they'd just sit in front of the tube the whole day. Sure, I watched too much TV before but there wasn't any Cow and Chicken then.

Oh well, as things get more complicated in life, so do our summers. Do you think things will ever get simple again?