How do you get un-bored?

So who hasn't had their kids come up to them and say, "Mom, I'm bored".  Those three words make me want to tear my hair out.  There's always something to do.  If I find myself feeling bored, it's usually because I'm so tired I don't have the energy for anything else.  Sometimes sitting around doing nothing can be therapeutic.

I remember as a child, I didn't have the gadgets that kids have today.  The empty lot across the street or the orchard in the backyard were my playgrounds.  Or I'd get on my bike and ride.  That was freedom.

Has technology made our children lazy thinkers?  I don't think so.  But it has definitely changed the way they entertain themselves.  Video games can be time wasters, but they also can be logic and memory building, dexterity-improving and can help build creativity.  Agree or disagree?

When they would come up to me when they were younger and say "I'm bored" I'd give them the usual run-down:  Lego?  nah.  Read a book?  nah.  Puzzle?  nah.  Run through the sprinklers?  nah.  Clean the toilet?  Mo-om!

My response that would infuriate them the most would be, "Only boring people get bored".  That implies the worst thing ever: that my kids were boring.  They weren't though.  I said that to light a fire under them.  And they would usually wander off after that and find something to do.

Bored?  Here are a few ideas that have worked for me.

• Play cards.
• Read a good book.
• Color in a coloring book with brand new crayons.  The brand new crayons part is important.
• Write a letter to your grandparents.  The old fashioned way.  With a pencil.
• Play a board game.  My favorites are Clue, Monopoly and The Game of Life.
• Play a parlor game.  
• Build a blanket fort.  A big fan blown into sheets held down with books and other heavy objects makes a great balloon fort.
• Bake some cookies - use a recipe you've never used before.
• Put together a big jigsaw puzzle.
• Wash your car.
• Put your favorite song on the stereo - no headphones allowed - and dance like no one is watching.

And I love quotes.  

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” ~ Dorothy Parker

“In order to live free and happily, you must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice.” ~  Richard Bach

“There's no excuse to be bored. Sad, yes. Angry, yes. Depressed, yes. Crazy, yes. But there's no excuse for boredom, ever.” ~ Viggo Mortensen

“He who seeks rest finds boredom. He who seeks work finds rest.” ~ Dylan Thomas

“Another word for creativity is courage.” ~ George Prince

"I am never bored anywhere:  being bored is an insult to oneself."  ~ Jules Renard

"Nobody is bored when he is trying to make something that is beautiful, or to discover something that is true."  ~ William Inge

"When I get real bored, I like to drive downtown and get a great parking spot, then sit in my car and count how many people ask me if I'm leaving."  ~ Steven Wright

"You get ideas from daydreaming.  You get ideas from being bored.  You get ideas all the time.  The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we're doing it."  ~ Neil Gaiman

Life is fun.  Have a great un-bored day!