Homegrown children

I think I am a homegrown child (thank you Mom and Dad!) and I'm trying, I think, to make my own two sons homegrown children too.

To me the word Homegrown conjures up images of:

• Sitting on top of my dad's shoulder's while he, my mom and I go window shopping in town on warm evenings
• Playing on rocks or sand at the ocean's edge while my mom and dad do some fishing, or trying to catch some tiny fish myself in the little rock pools
• Lying next to my mom on her bed and giggling about nothing
• Being afraid of Dad taking his belt to me
• Hanging around Dad and his friend while they worked on fixing a car in our yard
• Going camping and not worrying about tv, but playing cards instead
• All sitting together eating cockles collected on the rocks while camping (after dipping them in vinegar)
• Going with my dad to auctions or yard sales
• Playing in a tree in the parking lot while my mom waited for my dad to come out of his workplace
• The different dogs we had
• Going shopping with my mom and not remembering where we had parked when we came out
• My dad bringing my cat to me for the night after he finished watching late night tv
• My mom pulling at the bottom ends of my pajama pants when she tucked me in (I hated them riding up my calves)
• My mom babying me when I was ill or had bumped my toe three times in one day
• Enjoying eating the flops my mom made when she tried her hand at making fudge - more than when she got it right
• Running around barefoot and climbing trees and being allowed to stay dirty all day
• Getting lost in Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys books
• Listening to radio programs with my parents
• Listening to my dad's country and western music
• Always having my parents close by

At the moment, and for the past 3 years, my children and I are living with my parents. My boys are now 11 and 12, and in my opinion, are homegrown children. I'm proud of them. So proud.

I don't let them roam the streets, or sleep out often, and they don't yet mind. I hope it stays that way for a long time to come still!

Although they do spend some time playing computer games on their computer (no Internet allowed yet though!), my boyfriend Tony and I do make time for them. We have enjoyed a wonderful day trip to Hogsback in the Eastern Cape in South Africa, and more recently took them to Igoda beach, near East London, South Africa, which I had not visited in years!

Although I do not yet allow my boys Internet, Tony and I encouraged them to start their own Blogger blogs. They prepare the content on their own computer, and then we upload it for them.

Tony and I enjoy taking the boys to movies from time to time, and we support them in all of their school activities.

It's back to school on Tuesday after a five week holiday, and even though they will be gone just during the day, I will miss them. I miss them within an hour of them leaving the house, when they go to their father for the night - even if they've been driving Tony and I mad all day!

 I drive my boys dilly with all my lectures - mostly related to safety and health - but there's always a quick hug from them during the day, every day, or a quick and unexpected "Love you, mom!"

Tell your children you love them.  Often.  More than often.

Hug them and chat with them. Ask them about their day at school. Listen when they reply, and chat more.

My eldest, although still just 12, is almost as tall as I am now (I am almost 6 foot tall), and he will still sometimes come sit on my lap while I'm working at the computer.

My youngest is 11 and will grip me round the neck from behind, and I sit dead still, in case he kills me.  He loves it.

I love them.

It is my opinion that children who are hardly ever touched or spoken to, or who are sent to boarding school at an early age, or who have nannies taking care of them most of the time, are not homegrown children.