Talk about a boring Sunday…..
My husband was working and me and my boys were being really lazy ~ watching TV and hanging out on the sofas! After an hour or so of this, I decided even if you guys aren’t going to tell me you are bored ~ I AM! So I turned off the TV and told the boys to put on their shoes, we are getting out! We took off down main street, and the whole time they are asking “MOM, where are we going?”. Problem is, I just needed to get out of the house. I had no clue where we were going. I figured we would make a pass by the park, and I could let them kill a few hours there. Then I saw them…..
Two collage age boys throwing Frisbee in front of their apartment complex.
I tried to remember the last time I had thrown a Frisbee…..gosh, that must have been a family vacation we had taken to a beach somewhere in Mississippi when I was a child. My dad picked up a Frisbee as a souvenir in one of those big commercial chain places. It was hot pink and had black lettering. In my small hands this thing was huge. I remember throwing Frisbee with my dad on the beach, and trying so hard to make that perfect toss that would simply land right in his hands. We would occasionally have to jump into the waters’ edge to catch a “slip of the wrist” toss. We laughed and laughed for hours as my mom and little brother built sand castles and watched us. I must have been 7 or 8 years old. The more I remembered this day so long ago, the more I thought about my own 2 boys.
Do they even know what a frisbee is?
I turn to my oldest (he is 6) and ask if he wants to go throw Frisbee at the park. He looks at me and says “What?”. I explain, and he says “sure”. So we pull into the Dollar Tree and go in for one single item ~ a Frisbee. We ended up getting a very bright neon orange one that we would be sure not to miss if it got caught in a tree. Total with tax = $1.08.
So we get to the park and the boys are ready to see what this Frisbee stuff is all about. Our first few attempts were hilarious. Anyone watching was probably holding back their own laughter. After about 15-20 throws for each of us, we began to get the hang of it. We got better at controlling where this Frisbee was going, and even better at catching it. After about an hour or so my 6 year old starts trying some “tricks” like catching it under his leg, or taking a big running start before tossing it. It seemed like the time flew by. We stood there, the 3 of us in our little triangle formation tossing and catching for hours. Never once did either of my boys ask to go on the slides or swings. They never had even the slightest argument. They were really enjoying this ~ it was pure good old fashioned fun at it’s best!
Soon enough my husband called to say he was on his way home, so I told him to swing by the park, we are throwing Frisbee. He paused and said “You’re doing what?”… I knew he was thinking, he had never even seen me throw a Frisbee. Just come I told him. The boys are having a blast.
After dad gets there the boys are so excited to show him all the “new” tricks they can do. I see the look of surprise in my husbands face as he watched them run and jump and catch and toss. Dad takes over in my spot and I get to take a little break. Who knew Frisbee was such a work out?
As I sit and watch my husband playing Frisbee of all things with our boys, I think about my dad and I on that beach in Mississippi. I think about how clearly I remember that day. I know today I am building a memory for my boys that will hopefully bring them back here to this day when they are married and have kids. In today’s age of PlayStation’s, XBOX and remote controlled everything, I want to encourage my boys to have good old fashioned fun. I want them to understand that you can have fun with your imagination, with your ideas, or with a simple item like a Frisbee.
