A little magic
16th July 2018 · 0 Comments
By Edmund W. Lewis
Editor
As a kid growing up in New Orleans, there was absolutely nothing I enjoyed more than a little magic. Magic had the power to spice up everyday life and provide a jazzy cure for the summertime blues.
Magic didn’t require much to take hold — just a little imagination, creativity and a willingness to put a smile on the faces of the people you love.
That magic took many forms in our household. Long Sunday rides in the family station wagon; pre-dawn crab fishing in Lake Pontchartrain; weekend retreats and camping trips with my friends and classmates; ice cream parties; dancing contests; hurricane parties; trips to “the country” with my best friends and their families; Saints and Tulane football games and road trips to places like the Grand Canyon and Chicago’s Museum of Natural History.
I loved all of these things but among my favorites were the breathtaking view of the stars at night in “the country” and riding in the back of the family station wagon while letting the worries of the world just melt away.
My parents, like most parents of their generation, had a knack for finding small ways to sprinkle a little stardust into the lives of their loved ones.
These small gestures, thoughtful breaks and family traditions strengthened family bonds, captured the imagination of the young members of the family and gave everyone something to look forward to.
They also gave everyone a sense of belonging to something greater than the single parts and an appreciation for the role families play in society.
Sadly, those kinds of traditions don’t seem as commonplace as they once did. Young people today are all too often being raised by people barely old enough to have children and very little time, energy and interest in bringing magic into the family dynamic. Far too many families have been ravaged by poverty, despair and hopelessness and have lost their sense of what it even means to be a functioning family.
There are, of course, exceptions, and nothing can bring a smile to my face faster than to run across a young family that displays cohesiveness, joie de vivre and a sense of joy about simply being together and experiencing all that life has to offer.
The strengthening of the community begins with the building of strong families that value time spent together, opportunities to grow closer and an appreciation for what can be accomplished when a family unit works together.
In that spirit, I humbly offer the following suggestions for families looking to become more cohesive units and bringing a little magic into their lives:
• Invest in a fire pit and enjoy a little backyard family time
• Take a day trip to visit nearby beaches in places like Mississippi, Alabama and Lake Charles, La.
• Invest in a roomy tent and go camping in the back yard in preparation for a camping trip in the great outdoors
• Pick a place on a map and take a road trip there
• Visit the local Black museums and art galleries across the city
• Take a road trip to Baton Rouge to attend a Southern University football game
• Learn how to fish and go out on a fishing expedition
• Visit the local historically Black colleges and historic Black landmarks in the city.
• Visit the public library as a family and check out books before making a visit to your favorite snowball stand
• Take a cooking class, cake-decorating class or arts and crafts class as a family.
This article originally published in the July 16, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
