Take Time for Fun

When I was growing up, our park district motto was "take time for fun". People, particularly adults, loved this and frequently noted how clever it was. I spent many hours puzzling over this concept. Take time for fun. To me the whole thing was backwards. There was always time for fun, it was the other stuff that I constantly ran out of time for.


Fast forward twenty odd years and my how the tables have turned! Lately, it seems I have time for everything but fun.


Today, while cleaning my baseboards (that's a topic for a whole other post), the dog began throwing her toys at me. She was completely oblivious to the fact that I had exactly 90 minutes left to clean before leaving for work and other mindless pursuits. The bouncy balls and chew toys continued to rain down as she ran joyfully in circles around the apartment. When the tug toy hit me in the head, I finally caved in and played with her.


Every fiber of her being was focused on our play session. She literally yelped with pleasure when I threw a ball across the room. This continued until she sighed, collapsed on the floor and promptly started snoring.


I stayed on the floor for a few more minutes, marveling at her ability to play. My mind inevitably wandered to that ancient park district catchphrase and I got it.


Take time for fun.


When was the last time you had so much fun that you were oblivious to the world around you? So much fun that you lost track of time? So much fun that every fiber of your being was filled to the brim with joy?


Take time for fun.


I'm beginning to see this in a whole new way.


Take time for fun.


I love my life. There is very little I would change. However, I often find myself caught in a constant and never ending cycle of non-fun things. (see the baseboard reference above). I do think that the older we get, the more we need to take time for fun. For belly laughs. discarded to do lists. impromptu road trips. unscheduled days. baking. bike rides. finger painting and all the other endless ways you can imagine to have fun.


So that's it. I'm taking time for fun. Some of this other stuff can wait. Who really cares about clean baseboards anyway? How important are the daily tasks we assign ourselves? Will the world stop turning if the laundry goes unfolded?


A brilliant colleague of mine once confessed that she starts each day with the simple question, "What actually has to happen today?" It's a great self check to talk us down from the cliff of 'should' or 'must' or 'need to' that can quickly dominate our time.


So, what actually has to happen today? FUN.
Fun, has to happen today.