Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Woo HOO!!

I closed my eyes while leaning on the rail of the deck out back and could hear the train in the distance mixed with the sound of my children laughing and screaming out front. I was tired of moving from the back deck to the front porch trying to keep an eye on the kids while they ran from one place to the next - I finally had to put my foot down and demand they stay either out front or out back. The side yard was completely off limits considering I don't have a window on that side of the house in order to spy on whatever they are up to.

I decided to head into the house to prepare dinner while listening intently to the sounds coming from the outside - feeling that as long as I could hear the sounds of fun and laughter that all was well with the outside world and I was free to whip up whatever meager packaged goods I had in the pantry. I had to pause about a million times while cooking to make more demands that no one play in the side yard - I'm afraid the neighbor boys have figured out I can’t spy on them and lure my children over there. Since I was trying to prepare dinner I made a strong suggestion they stay in the back yard so I could easily glance out the kitchen window. Another obstacle though is the shed out back. You know, I have a daughter - the only girl amongst several boys. I'm always worried about the "show me yours and I'll show you mine" game that can happen in a matter of a few unsupervised minutes behind the shed. May it never happen!

My life would be much easier if we lived on a farm away from the multitude of subdivision kids. But, I remember having so much fun when I was young. Playing games like king of the dirt hill and softball. We loved bike races and drawing on the road with broken pieces of drywall from the houses being built nearby. We used to run everywhere. My parents wouldn't have a clue where we were. We had one rule - to stay within whistle distance. Boy could my dad whistle. If he whistled and we didn't come we were dead. It's too funny - I do the same thing. What's even funnier - my kids aren't the only kids who come when I whistle. :)

9 comments:

Jennifer said...

We didn't even have to be within whistle distance. I don't remember my mom calling us in from outside even once. We always came back eventually. I guess she was happy to have us out of the house. Different world then.

R said...

Yeah, I second Jennifer.

That's funny about the whistle. I can't even whistle. I can sing, but I can't whistle. Guess I ain't ever singing "Sweet Child of Mine" eh?

Anne said...

Jennifer - My mom didn't whistle - it was my Dad and he was hardly ever home anyway. We came home when we were hungry and sometimes not even then because we would find something to eat somewhere. One of my neighbors always had a bag of tomatoes or turnups and we would eat them up. If we DID come home we got yelled at for lettin' all the flies in. :) Times ARE different.

R - Does that song have whistling in it? I whistle a lot. I can whistle really loud (with fingers in my mouth) and I whistle tunes all the time (not with my fingers in my mouth though).

Anonymous said...

you should probably install an invisible fence so they get shocked if they wander out of the perimeter. Another thing that would be cool is a survellience camera so you can watch it in the kitchen. modern technology is so awesome

Anonymous said...

Hi, Anne!

I'm back and trying to catch up with everyone! :o)

Suzy-Q said...

I have a special whistle that my kids know. I can find them easily when they get lost at Walmart with that whistle. I look like a total dork walking around whistling a little ditty....but my kids know it is me and come running.

When they were little and still in daycare I would sneak up to the door of the daycare and barely crack it, stick my mouth to the door and whistle as softly as I could. They always heard it and ran to me smiling. Those are special days!

Anne said...

Dooz - An invisible fence WOULD be cool but I would want it to keep other kids OUT.

Lisa - WOO HOO!! You're back! I'll try to get over there to visit.

AuntieJ - I have a special sound I make to wake my kids in the morning and I use when it's quiet. It's the quietest sound but it wakes them up in two seconds. It amazes me.

Jenn said...

You just reminded me of when I was young, my parents had a dinner bell that you could hear from blocks...hehe.

I wish I could whistle without my fingers like Mr. Coffee.

Anne said...

Emmers - My grandparents had one of those huge dinner bells. Well, I think it was more of an emergency bell. Who knows. I just know it was big and loud and we would get in trouble if we pulled the rope.