The other night my 19-year-old daughter phoned from college. She was all bubbly and happy because her life was so full of good things. Fun things. Fun, new things. In the span of a few days she had sung for the first time in a karaoke bar with friends and had gone kayaking on the ocean with her boyfriend. Wow. Doesn’t that sound fun!
I miss that. Experiencing fun new things.
I remember doing a lot of fun things when I was in my 20s living in San Francisco. Sipping Dubonnet with my friend Patty while listening to the Jesters quartet perform in some small club, hunting through dusty thrift stores on Valencia Street, exploring Chinatown, hanging out in a coffee shop complete with sofas and unmatched chairs that was a funkier version of Central Perk from “Friends.”
One of the fun things we did in London five years ago.
But later there seemed to be less time or energy for fun. My husband and I bought a house in Silicon Valley. The bit of furniture we owned from our town house days was inadequate and in some cases didn’t work at all. So for a while our weekends were spent trying to find furniture my husband and I both liked. That was decidedly a very “unfun” activity. Painful really.
And there was now a yard to take care of. And careers to manage. And we started our family. And once you start having children…well any bit of free time you may have had gets sucked up. In the baby days, I remember my biggest desire sometimes was just to get a nap. Sleep was the sweetest prize. And as our daughters got older there was the dizzying whirl of school, soccer games and play dates to manage.
But now that our daughters are teenagers and don’t need the intense parenting of the younger years, I’m thinking the time is ripe to add some new, fun things back to my life. Maybe finally take that pottery class. Or take horseback riding lessons. Learn how to cook amazing Italian food. I’m getting excited just thinking about it!
What fun thing do you want to add to your life?
Adopt a child and start all over again! Now that’s fun! Love ya . . . traci
Traci, I so admire you and your hubby for adopting YiLi, and it’s obvious from your FB posts that you are having fun! I don’t think I could start over again…though I am looking forward to becoming a grandparent someday!! XOXO Karen
No child adoption for me…but we’re considering adopting a third dog! I have to say, though, that my heart really goes out to foster kids. I wish I had the “bandwidth” to do something. Probably more realistic is getting one of my dogs certified as a therapy dog and visiting kids (and adults) in hospitals. I’ve always wanted to do that! Also on the list…loads more travel, cooking classes (let me know if you find a good one!), doing more adventure things like hang gliding and dog sledding (I tried both zip lining and indoor sky diving in the past two years and loved them both!), singing lessons, and doing more writing!
Lisa, love your idea about getting a therapy dog and visiting people in hospitals!! That would be awesome, both fun and a blessing to people. Count me in for more travel too and I like your singing lessons idea. XOXO