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What is more exciting to the young heart and mind than that savory and unrivaled treat, summer vacation? A well-deserved reward for all the hard work and irreplaceable time invested in the previous school year.
As adults, we can look back fondly on those golden days with a warm sense of nostalgia and a longing to return to the carefree days that linger now only in our memories. And yet, we can live those times again vicariously as we engage with the present younger generation who will be making its own special memories.
Parents need to take as much time as they can to help make the summer break special and meaningful for their kids. Planning and taking a family vacation, even a simple weekend camping trip, can forge stronger bonds and create everlasting memories that could never be bought or traded with gadgets, games, or videos. Simple day-to-day family activities are valuable, too, in making vacation time a rich and rewarding experience for all.
Likewise, we should encourage our youngsters to seek out those activities, on their own, that keep them engaged and active. Whether it is sports, arts activities, taking up a new hobby, or any number of other options that kids are able to enjoy. They should be made aware of how precious this time is and urged to make the most of it.
It may be nearly impossible to convince them of how important this is, but it is still our duty to try to do so nonetheless. They will, without question, thank us for it in the years to come later.
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It’s very true that people don’t appreciate what they have until it’s gone. The sadder part is that Somerville has changed so much over the years, that the current generation won’t really have the same things to look back on as we had when we were younger.
All the good places are gone, all the long-time family-owned businesses and stores we used to go to as kids with and without our parents have all been turned into apartments and condos. There just aren’t those kinds of places around these days.
No old-time bakeries, no Woolworth’s-type stores, only expensive and trendy shops that I can’t imagine anyone looking back with fondness and remembering going to as a child.
I realize that times change, but I know that those kinds of places still exist, only in other cities, not this one. Too many places that could easily have been handed down or taken over by a like-minded business person have all been sold out to developers who don’t care about anything but money.
That’s why parents do need to make memories with their kids, real memories, that they can look back on and appreciate, because in this day and age, that’s all they’ll really have to look back on.
There are also no recreational activities for kids and teens anymore. Gone are all the movie theaters, bowling alleys, roller staking rink, summer activities in the parks or schools, etc., etc. In their place are phony ‘community’ events, often attended by more people from other places than Somerville. I’m glad my kids are grown. I’m sad for today’s kids as there are no places for them to grow up.
Linda, there are tons of great shops out there that you just need to try out, most of them are family owned. Learn to make something at Craftworks, Grab a coffee at 3 little figs or Diesel, bread and pastry at Pepe Bocca, Somerville Bread Co or Winter Hill bakery. Head to Juliet, Celeste or Bronwyn in union sq. Check out Daddy Jones or Magoun Saloon in Magoun sq. Want some of the best meat for BBQ you need to go to Modellos, also in Magoun. Grab ice cream at Gracies, Tipping Cow or JP Licks.
Things change and with them are plenty of opportunity for new memories.
No recreational opportunities? I’ve raised my kids in Somerville over the past 15 years and I can tell that is 100% not true.
Its amazing how unaware people are of whats around them. I know I fall victim to this as well. I stumbled into the bow market the other day not realizing that it had opened. What a cool space! Its hard to keep up with all the stuff going on in the (present day) city!