During my childhood I felt free to explore life and find joy in simple experiences. Now, I’m an adult with 2 almost-grown daughters of my own and I realize that I sometimes seem to often overlook the little joyful possibilities that exist in every moment.
Wanting to begin to reintroduce that joy-seeking openness back into my life I headed to the toy section of Target. I found 4 packs of Play-doh for less than $2, little bottles of bubble solution with bubble wands for under $1, and in the checkout lane I picked up a pack of BubbleYum bubble gum, too. What fun!! ( And inexpensive, too! ) Just going through the checkout lane with these purchases felt like a surprising secret because the bag of fun was for ME! It wasn’t for a small child – it was for over-40 ME and it felt great!
Last night I tip-toed from my bed after my hubby fell asleep and went to play and create with my Play-doh. I had so much fun! As I was finishing up my Play-doh “critter” my 16 year old daughter walked into the room and burst into laughter upon finding her mother intently rolling and forming the colorful dough into something silly. That was ok with me, I just had her go get her camera to document my creation before I took it apart for the night.
The idea of child-like playing and creating must have been floating around last week, because on the same day I did my fun shopping my 18 year old daughter and my mom went out and bought coloring books. I think I may have to see if they will share a page or two with me…
Today I invite you to return to your own playful roots. Think about your own simple childhood joys and seek them out in your present. Maybe you have joy filled memories of jacks, marbles, Legos, Lincoln Logs, Matchbox cars, finger paints, cutting paper snowflakes, hopscotch, jump rope, hula hoop, catching frogs, or swinging higher and higher on a swing. I’m sure you can come up with something simple that might still make your heart sing. Have fun with life – growing up is no reason to grow boring!
During my childhood I felt free to explore life and find joy in simple experiences. Now, I’m an adult with 2 almost-grown daughters of my own and I realize that I sometimes seem to often overlook the little joyful possibilities that exist in every moment.
Wanting to begin to reintroduce that joy-seeking openness back into my life I headed to the toy section of Target. I found 4 packs of Play-doh for less than $2, little bottles of bubble solution with bubble wands for under $1, and in the checkout lane I picked up a pack of BubbleYum bubble gum, too. What fun!! ( And inexpensive, too! ) Just going through the checkout lane with these purchases felt like a surprising secret because the bag of fun was for ME! It wasn’t for a small child – it was for over-40 ME and it felt great!
Last night I tip-toed from my bed after my hubby fell asleep and went to play and create with my Play-doh. I had so much fun! As I was finishing up my Play-doh “critter” my 16 year old daughter walked into the room and burst into laughter upon finding her mother intently rolling and forming the colorful dough into something silly. That was ok with me, I just had her go get her camera to document my creation before I took it apart for the night.
The idea of child-like playing and creating must have been floating around last week, because on the same day I did my fun shopping my 18 year old daughter and my mom went out and bought coloring books. I think I may have to see if they will share a page or two with me…
Today I invite you to return to your own playful roots. Think about your own simple childhood joys and seek them out in your present. Maybe you have joy filled memories of jacks, marbles, Legos, Lincoln Logs, Matchbox cars, finger paints, cutting paper snowflakes, hopscotch, jump rope, hula hoop, catching frogs, or swinging higher and higher on a swing. I’m sure you can come up with something simple that might still make your heart sing. Have fun with life – growing up is no reason to grow boring!