October 8, 2015 – Finland, Minnesota

“Let it go, let it go…”

I can’t help but laugh out loud as I hear Genavive recite the infamous lines from the highest grossing Disney movie of all time. Should’ve been The Lion King. Amelia says that Gen saw the movie a year ago on a train, and I’m not at all surprised that the song is still in her head. The laugh is bittersweet, however, as it also reminds me of my time spent with Syr, who is around the same age. She would watch two minutes of that song (in video format, on a smart phone) almost every night while she brushed her teeth.

That’s right…these days, the all-powerful Disney can even reach young girls that don’t have televisions in their homes.

As I’m babysitting Gen and Galvin, I’m again reminded of my experience with Syr. Without an idiot box and/or game systems to act as a babysitter, children are forced to use their own imaginations and be creative if they want to entertain themselves. Syr and I would make up games and build things with whatever we could find around the house. I imagine the same thing happens here.

I can’t remember exactly what I had when I was their age, but I do know that the aforementioned technologies entered my life somewhat early on. Seeing how these other families operate, I wonder what kind of effect these absences would have had on my life?

What effect will it have on their lives?

I can only assume that in lieu of such time-sucks, these children will be taught valuable life and survival skills. As they grow, they will most likely practice and master such skills. Building structures. Working the land. Hunting for food.

Living a more realistic fairy tale.

“If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger.” – Frank Lloyd Wright