Today’s Bloganuary subject (or rather, yesterday’s now…I came at this whole thing pretty late) is: “Do you play in your daily life? What says ‘playtime’ to you?”
Nostalgia
I’ll answer the second question first. For me, this word immediately conjures memories of playing outside with friends, siblings, and sometimes parents. Maybe we were running around on that old wooden playground at our elementary school that was brand new during our time at the school and was just so awesome. You remember the ones, with the giant castle in the middle and the swinging bridge. We were probably playing pirates or magical kingdoms or something.
Or maybe we were in somebody’s backyard. Maybe it was the friend with the apple orchard. Or the two acres of kudzu-covered hills in ours, with the hose swing tied (yes, you read that correctly) over the huge oak tree that swung out over the big hill. We were probably playing Power Rangers or Care Bears. Or maybe we were climbing magnolias and playing school. Sometimes we were inside, playing board games or musical instruments, or putting on plays or magic shows.
For some reason, Howard Shore’s “Concerning Hobbits” always reminds me of those times.
Clearly, I associate the word “playtime” with childhood. It refers to an activity that allows me to forget the stresses of daily life and focus completely on something fun for a while. But while it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to go running around a playground and climbing absolutely all the things anymore in an attempt to defeat the evil bad guys like the kid in my head and heart is longing for me to do, I can still find activities that effectively achieve the same results. Here are some of the ways I like to relax or “play” from day to day:
Adult Playtime
- Taking long walks outside
- Reading novels
- Jigsaw puzzles
- Crossword puzzles
- Creative writing, journaling, or blogging
- Fidget toys
- Playing with our dog
- Traveling
- Trying new foods
- Game nights with friends
I’m sure there’s more I can’t think of offhand. But I will say that I recently discovered there is a swing hanging from a tree in a park near our house, and one of these days I will have to insist upon my boyfriend pushing me on it.
