March 25, 2008

Bottled, Sparkling or Garden Hose?

The doorbell rang recently on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. At the door were three young kids that live in the neighborhood. We're familiar with two of them, 8-year-old Caitlyn and 6-year-old Cameron. They're siblings. These two kids are frequently in our yard, hiding from each other (or their mom) in our private courtyard, stealing pieces of our landscaping and sneaking in the backyard to terrorize, or play, with our dog. They've apparently recruited another youngster named Erica.

When I answered the door, Caitlyn asked if they could have three bottles of water for free. My first thought was not suitable to say aloud to children, so I merely reminded Caitlyn that she lives just two doors away and could easily get water at her house. We live in a neighborhood in the city after all. It's not like they were five miles from home and suffering from dehydration. Caitlyn then informed me that her family had gone through all of their bottles of water, so they couldn't go home because there was nothing to drink. Hmm...

The next line of questioning was pointless, but still I proceeded. "You have running water, right"? "You have a sink, right"? "You have cups to drink from, right"? My common-sense approach was lost on this 8-year-old.

As they walked away from the front door, I could hear them talking about asking another neighbor. But, Caitlyn quickly pointed out that particular neighbor is never home. Guess I'll have to learn that trick.

So, whatever happened to the days of running through the kitchen to grab a quick drink? And, if you were told to stop running in and out, what happened to just drinking from the outside faucet? Are kids today really so sheltered that all they know is bottled water?

1 comment:

vivo_vim said...

I remember going to the nearest spring and getting cool water on a hot summers day. Was I getting even better than bottled spring water because it was not bottled?, or maybe I could have just carried one of those crystal clear plastic bottles to drink from.