Yesterday we all drove to Oklahoma City to go to the Pride Parade. It was the first for all of us, which made it that much more exciting. The boys and I were practically bouncing off the walls with excitement, talking about what we hoped to see. Even the dark clouds and rain couldn’t stop us from driving two hours to see the fun. And it certainly did not disappoint.

Funny story: When we got there it was still raining, so I left the sling in the car and got the stroller out instead. Well, by time we got to the parade route the rain had stopped and we realized that it was far too crowded for a stroller to fit. So Evan and I walked back to the car, which Michael stayed with Trey and Saffron.

We got back to find Michael surrounded by rainbow covered women who were shoving cookies at Saffron and Trey and cooing over how cute they were. He finally found a way to be surrounded by women just like in the beer commercials, and they were all lesbians. Poor dude, life just isn’t fair.

I took a ton of photos of the parade, the people, my kids dumping water on each other. I’ve got all of my photos here, and you can also search for the pictures that everyone else took. It may have been blisteringly hot, it may have threatened to rain us out, but it was definitely a blast!

photo credit: left-hand

Last night I caught pieces of a Twitter party where parents were talking about summer fun, and learning, and activities. I didn’t pay much attention, except for the few tweets that scrolled through my timeline, but I did notice a trend. Fear of boredom.

We can’t let the kids get bored, they stated. Boredom leads to trouble, they warned. It is our duty, as parents, to keep boredom away.

Actually, I’m a fan of boredom. I don’t see it as the monster lurking in the closet, ready to draw kids down into the depths of drugs and vandalism. Actually, given a chance, boredom can be a wonderful thing. Think of it as the rain storm that soaks the ground. Some damn beautiful flowers can spring up from having nothing to do.

My kids are rarely bored. We don’t have a TV, they aren’t allowed to play on the computer, and I don’t plan activities every day. Sure there’s the occasional craft or trip when an idea pops up, but most of the time they’re left to their own devises to find something fun to do. And they do.

They chase frogs through the backyard, build “inventions” from pieces of wood and nails they find in the empty lot next to us, they make long winding roads from their wooden train tracks, and they curl up on the couch and look at books. Almost never does the word “bored” escape their mouths. Because they already know my answer: “Well, find something to do then!”

I think it’s a disservice to spend so much time planning games, trips, activities, crafts, etc… One day kids will have to find something to do on their own, and they will be lost. How on earth will they be able to entertain them themselves if they’ve never had to learn how? It’s the old feed a man a fish verses teach him to fish problem. Feed kids too many activities and they’ll seek out pre-packaged fun, instead of learning how to get it themselves.

I like boredom, boredom is good, from boredom springs fun that doesn’t come from a box. Do not fear the boredom.