Christmas Has Changed

Christmas has come and gone, much like my thirties. This year, for whatever reason, is the first year that I could feel a difference in the cold (not COLD, I live in Texas) December air.

When I was a kid, which I understand is a line that is written due to my ever-increasing age, the gifts must have been different. (Generic) Bikes, (generic) skateboards, Wiffle Ball bats, Nerf guns- these all made an appearance under the tree at some point. What did this mean? It meant I unwrapped them, threw on a sweatshirt, and immediately headed outside to partake. Most other kids in the neighborhood did similar things. We would meet at the corner and compare new things, or perhaps even share our new wares.

Over these two or three post-Christmas days, in 2019, this tradition has seemed to fall by the wayside. On my daily dog walks, I have seen a total of two kids playing with what seem to be new treasure. For context, we live in a fairly large neighborhood, plenty of kids around waiting on the bus on a typical school day. What happened to them over Christmas break? Is it video games? Is it new phones and computer gadgets (word used on purpose to show my oldness)? Is it parents being afraid, maybe understandably, to let their kids go play outside? Or is it that kids just do not want to play outside these days?

I can not answer this myself, as I am not a parent (*am now). It is just an observation I have made over the past couple of days. An obvious observation, however. Also, a sad one. It seems the days of the outside child are over. Maybe one day they will make a glorious comeback, kids canvassing the neighborhood on their Schwinns or “sneaking” into your yard to retrieve an errant Wiffle Ball, but I will not hold my breath. 

Anyways, nothing mind-blowing here, just something to think about…

-Houston Bailey