Play?

[pegkerr]

kijjohnson and I had an excellent talk last night, ranging over a wide variety of topics, but one thing we talked about that I have been thinking about ever since was that I remarked that I don't have much in my life right now that is there simply so that I can play.

I loved the Shakespeare playreading group that I was in with pameladean, carbonel and others for a number of years. I loved it. We don't do that anymore.

I loved playing Neville in nocturne_alley. That game is over.

I can't think of anything I do in my life right now simply for play. This is not good or healthy, I think. Edited to add: Well, there's LiveJournal, of course. LiveJournal's fun for me.

What about you? What do you have in your life that is simply for fun, simply to play?

Comments

[avylou.livejournal.com]

Yes, my buddy Doc plays better than most adults I know, so I sent him here to this thread. I originally came here via Kij, who I met in Indy at her writing seminars, and have been reading your journal for several months now.

I play a lot, too. Neither Doc nor I are raising children, which certainly allows for more playing time. Thinking back on my own mother's life, I now have a much greater appreciation of how much she gave up for her family. But I remember her giving herself reading time and exercise time nearly every day. Now, with kids long gone, and both my dad and the long-term companion who followed Dad gone, she does a lot more playing - she hikes several times a week, climbs mountains with the Active Older Adult group in town, exercises like a fiend at the local Senior Center (at 72, she exercises harder than many 10 and 20 years younger, including me!). She volunteers, including ushering at local events like the state symphony. She goes on trips with her various groups.

I mostly read (I read A LOT - 3 or 4 books a week) and play online (LJ :-); knit and crochet when my hands let me; assign myself mini-courses on topics that grab my interest, like studying German enough to recognize and be able to pronounce German words that appear in books, or intensively studying Egyptian art and hieroglyphics for 3 months, or reading up on Irish poetry and mythology, so I'd recognize the mythological names that came up in reading, etc.; go to museums; attend concerts, performances and travelogue lectures in town (especially the free ones); take sightseeing drives; eat out; cook.