Four kids and a Dog

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What great parents we must be!  And even greater grandparents we are.  To spend this portion of our travels to babysit while our kids are off to celebrate their anniversary in Las Vegas.  So we got the kids, a 4-month old, a 2 year old, a four year old, a 7 year old, and a 100 pound English Bulldog, for four days all to ourselves.

It's great.  But boy have times changed.  They seem to have everything.  The 4 month old has more toys than I ever had during my entire lifetime.  And the other kids have even more.  Yet each one of them seemed to get bored after a bit and can't seem to find anything to do.

Cabinets are filled with an abundance of books, paints, crayons, and movies.  Their bedrooms are piled with dolls, drums, Legos, and portable video games.  And the garage has no room for the family car because it protects the bikes, skateboards, and motorized sports cars.

A far cry from the way I grew up.  With a tin can which we kicked to and from school every day until it would no longer roll, or a single piece of paper that I drew on for days before folding it into a jet wing airplane.  A found tennis ball and an old broomstick were all I needed to host a stickball game in the field across the street.  And baseball cards pinned to slap the spokes of the bicycle I shared with my brother.  I was always busy, and never at a loss for what to do.

I would have thought that child raising would be much easier than it was when I did it before.  The technology today doesn't help much.  Securing everyone into some high tech car seat that I can barely figure out before trekking over to the park.  The variety of foods available, each with health warnings pasted all over the wrappings.  A selection of shoes and clothes that would dwarf my own closet makes a choice of what to wear so much more difficult, both for the parent and child.

Theme parks, fast food restaurants, entertainment centers and such filled these kids activities regularly.  You've got to be well organized, and have sufficient cash reserves to preserve this lifestyle.

Sure is fun though.  But is it really better than the way it was?
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