Give Your Child--and Yourself--an Unfettered Life

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#006633" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="03fd6c00ddvuru.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0066FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>SheriZiemann.com</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#333399" FACE="Arial" >    </FONT> |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SheriZiemann.com"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Be a Tourist in Your Hometown"><U>Be a Tourist in Your Hometown</U></A>   |   <B>Give Your Child--and Yourself--an Unfettered Life</B>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Staying Healthy on the Road"><U>Staying Healthy on the Road</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Take a Vacation, Discover Your Family"><U>Take a Vacation, Discover Your Family</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="When it Comes to Vacations, Give em the "><U>When it Comes to Vacations, Give 'em the World</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="In honor of Jameson Peshlakai"><U>In honor of Jameson Peshlakai</U></A></div> <div> Give Your Child--and Yourself--an Unfettered Life</div> <div> <B>Article Appeared in </B><I><B>Family Time</B></I><B> Magazine</B></div> <div> <B>September, 2002</B></div> <bR> <div> How much of our lives do we spend in scheduled activities?  Think about a standard workday. Add doctor's appointments, our children's school and sports activities, care for aging parents, travel, and you get--well, exhausted. </div> <bR> <div> There are a lot of not-so-nice things I could say about my childhood, but there is one thing I appreciate more and more as my life flies by: unstructured days. Certainly I had more chores than I thought a human child should have to endure (I swore, ala Scarlett O'Hara, that I'd <I>never</I> garden again after too many hours in the sun pulling weeds), but I also had time to just <B>be a kid</B>. </div> <bR> <div> My sister and I played made-up games with whatever we could find. We rode our bikes, we climbed trees and fences and made tents with the sheets on the clothesline.  Most important of all to me was the hours I spent outside, as far from the house as I could get, reading for hours. I solved mysteries before Nancy Drew figured them out, I explored the world of giants with <I>The Borrowers</I>, I traveled through space and time with Madeleine l'Engle.  With all the other things happening around me that would otherwise have seemed insufferable, those treasured moments of escape saved my life. They also shaped how I see the world today, and what I wish for--and promise to--my daughter.</div> <bR> <div> Naturally, not everyone has acres of grass and trees upon which their children can romp and explore, nor collies to curl up with for warmth in the barn on an autumn afternoon.  City dwellers need to create their own opportunities within their environment, and build in getaways whenever possible.  </div> <bR> <div> I had the great fortune to visit Wind Dancers Lodging and Llama Treks, (1-828-627-6986)<B> </B>a magnificent mountain retreat near Clyde, North Carolina on a recent long weekend.  No television, video games, pool or tennis courts leave visiting kids casting about with blank looks, aimlessly wandering through breathtaking scenery.  The most structured event at Wind Dancers is a llama trek up through the woods on the side of the mountain for dinner.  The Livengood's pack everything they need for a gourmet meal on the llamas, and cook on a deck that sits across a mountain stream.  </div> <bR> <div> Watching the other guests' children playing in the water, climbing over rocks and making up songs was pure delight-and made me wish my daughter had come along.  Co-owner Gale Livengood says, “When children first arrive here, they look lost, wondering what to do with themselves.  But give them 24 hours and you'll see them making friends with the llamas, creating games with sticks and rocks, and really getting in touch with all that surrounds them.”  </div> <bR> <div> Another great spot, also in the North Carolina mountains, is Your Mountain Home, a three-bedroom, two bath home on the side of a mountain, complete with the Laurel River running through the “front yard.”  The front porch offers a spectacular view-especially in October and March-and the house is just a few minutes from the Appalachian Trail, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Hot Springs, North Carolina (a real hot springs spa) and whitewater rafting launch. Your Mountain Home offers another of many idyllic locations for you and your children to enjoy an unfettered life.</div> <bR> <div> Teach your children how to use their imaginations. Teach them to treasure books and the worlds those books unleash. Teach them to while away hours on a quiet day in whatever (safe) way they see fit. If they don't learn it now, when will they? Teach them these things by remembering (or learning for the first time) how to do them yourself!</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>© </B></FONT><B>2002-2003</B><B> Sheri L. Ziemann</B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>