Being a middle school teacher, I often think about what it was like when I was growing up as a middle-schooler in this same town. We lived in the country, on a road surrounded by woods and cornfields. No internet. No cell phones. I was usually bored out of my mind but would never say as much to my mother or she would put me to work weeding the garden. I hated that job, but it taught me work ethic. Sometimes the boredom got me into mischief, I’ll admit. But good or bad, it forced me to find creative ways to bide the time.
All of us neighborhood kids would get together and make trails and forts in the woods. We always had a game of tag football or kickball in someone’s backyard, and our families would get together for bonfires on the weekends. Many days, I’d go out back and climb a tree and just sit there, taking in the view. I learned to enjoy those moments of solitude. Sometimes a neighbor friend would join me, and we’d contemplate the Bible and what God must think of the mess we’ve all made of things. (That friend grew up to be a preacher.)
We were on our bikes every day, riding to nowhere, but solving all of the world’s complications. I spent many hours walking that road between the trees and the corn. Singing. Praying. Letting off steam. Trying to make sense of things on my mind. I realize now that I was learning to process my emotions and problem-solve, and I didn’t even know it.
It turns out that boredom was a gift. It was there that I taught myself how to play five instruments by ear and got pretty good at some of them. I mastered lyrics to my favorite songs, sketched anything that was sitting still, and found my love of writing. I would journal about patiently watching a bird egg every day, waiting for it to hatch, or marveling how cool it was to watch a spider make a web.
If you talk to middle school kids today, many will tell you that they spend a majority of their free time inside. Most will say they don’t often get bored, but they get very lonely. That caught me by surprise at first, but it makes sense.
Downtime can immediately be filled by picking up a phone. Any experience they would like to enjoy can be accomplished vicariously by watching someone else do it online. Friends from anywhere in the world can join their video game and chat while they play. Unlimited movies are at their fingertips. They aren’t bored.
But one can only watch other people’s experiences for so long before they feel like they are missing out. They might feel great compassion for someone when they
read their post, but they can’t hug them. Connecting online is just not the same as connecting in person. We crave real human interaction.
We might see a photo of a gorgeous sunset, but we can’t feel the warmth of it on our skin if we don’t go out and watch it for ourselves. Sometimes we just need to get dirt on our hands, feel the breeze on our face, smell the rain in the air, taste freshly picked honeysuckle, or catch a firefly in our own two hands to truly appreciate the beauty of the world around us. We can watch eggs turn to tadpoles and grow into frogs in under a minute on YouTube, but there’s something about the anticipation of waiting and watching the real thing that builds our muscles for patience.
We need time to be bored.
I hope kids put down the phones and go outside. Catch frogs, pick flowers, and just find space to be a kid. That is a space worth protecting. I hope they use their imaginations to build a clubhouse out of sticks and rocks and then catch fireflies to keep in a jar next to their bed. I hope they grab a friend and a fishing pole and dangle their toes in the water while they wait for a nibble on the line.
I hope they are lucky enough to have a ‘boring’ childhood that builds creativity, imagination, work ethic and helps them find their place in this beautiful world.
Have a blessed week, friends!
