Mama Diaries

Thursday, July 2, 2015

What to Do When You're Bored

This afternoon, I found my son lying on the sofa staring at the ceiling fan which was going around and around.

"Dude," I said. "What are you doing?"

"I'm bored," he replied.

"Well, go outside and find something to do."

He shook his head. "This is more interesting."

"What is?"

"Counting how many times the blades go around."

I made a face. "Seriously?"

"Do you want to know how to do it?"

"Sure, Bubba. How do you do it?"

He explained. "You have to be under the fan, staring up at it. Then you focus on one of the spaces between the blades. That helps you keep track of the blade, and then you just count."

That sounded thrilling.

"So, how many times has it gone around?"

He smiled. "Since I've been talking to you, eight."

Great. So, ladies and gentlemen, if you're ever bored, just park yourself under a ceiling fan, stare up at it, and start counting.  

46 comments:

  1. And hope someone has cleaned it recently and it's not dumping dust bunnies on you.

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    1. Haha! Yes. We have one of those long pole things to clean the fan. I don't think there are many dust bunnies up there.

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  2. Your family and their antics always brings a smile to my face, Wonderful read.
    Yvonne.

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  3. He is reverting back to infancy...Looking up at a baby mobile. ;-)

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  4. does the ceiling fan help in cooling down the room? We don't have them here... so that's why I'm asking...

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    1. Yes, they do. It moves the air around, so coupled with air conditioning, it keeps things really cool.

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  5. I'm bored; it's only ever said in my house once. The results are always amusing - to me.
    I've been known to send children out with a bucket and tell them not to return until they've gathered 10 oak leaves, a bird feather, 13 acorns, and a toad stool... or to re-enact Tom Sawyer painting the wooden fence (with water of course). The best one was when I told the two oldest not to step foot back in the house until they were filthy from tip to toe... and then hosed them off in the back garden.
    They still talk about that one! ;-)

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    1. That's great! I ought to try some of those on my boy!

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  6. What a cool kid! It's a true talent to find enjoyment in the seemingly mundane :)

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    1. He seems to be quite skilled at doing just that!

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  7. At least he can keep himself from being bored!

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  8. Well, look at it as he's not getting into trouble and he's using math. :)

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  9. There are more interesting things to do while looking at a ceiling fan. Once upon a time (while I was in college and taking the semester of classical physics) I tried to figure out how to calculate the motion of the fan. It was spinning and swaying... (I needed something to focus on. I was at a funeral at the time.)

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    1. That's funny! I tend to do things like that when I'm trying to prevent myself from getting too emotional.

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  10. lol well it beats counting tiles on the ceiling I suppose

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    1. If there were tiles on the ceiling, I'm sure he would've been counting those.

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  11. I don't think I've ever had time to count how many times the fan blade goes around... maybe I should take time, it might relax me... xox

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  12. My mother always said, Read a book.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Do you know how many times I've said that? :)

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  13. No lie. But I don't remember the last time I was truly bored.

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    1. I'm with you. I couldn't even imagine being bored. There's just so much to do!

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  14. I've done that a couple times, but that was mainly if I was waiting on someone. Usually if I'm at a friend's house and they leave the room or something and I'm not comfortable enough to find something to do.

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  15. I remember doing this when I had some serious and tough questions during the examinations. hehe

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  16. What a delightful story. Happy Friday!

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  17. Your fan must be slower than the ones in our house! It is amazing how we can find ways to amuse ourselves.

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    1. We had it on low speed. It was easy to keep your eye on a particular space or blade.

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  18. Whilst I can think of worse ways of whiling away the time I think I'll give this a miss as I don't think it would be too long before I became dizzy.

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    1. Haha! You'd get dizzy or be hypnotized for sure!

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    1. It's moderately slow. Definitely not on high speed.

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  20. Believe it or not, one of my jobs when I was a Naval Aircrewman was counting the number of propeller blades on Soviet submarines.
    That fan thing sounds more interesting.

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    1. Wow. Now I have to wonder why you had to do that.

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  21. We'll all have fascinating new careers, thanks to Bubba! :)

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  22. I didn't have ceiling fans as a kid, but I had rotating floor ones. I remember sticking things, like a feather or a pencil, in it to see what would happen. I also remember pressing my face against it to talk, which warped my voice. I was bored, too.

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    1. I hope you didn't destroy too many things by putting them in the fan!

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  23. Sounds like a mechanical mind at work there. He'll be the one sitting back observing and then be the first to see the problem.
    Life & Faith in Caneyhead

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