Last week my girlfriend suggested a picnic in the park. Not just any grab an old blanket and some sandwiches picnic, but a NO KIDS ALLOWED mamas-only evening picnic by the water.
This started to conjure up images of flouncy dresses, sun hats and parasols (or perhaps that was my binge-watching of Downton Abbey – LOVE their outfits!). The idea romanticized in my imagination. Then I turned to menu planning, deviled-eggs, boiled baby potatoes, peach cobbler – YES peach cobbler! Whoa Nelly!
Now I am all for a classy picnic in the park and all for making it spectacularly fun, but I had to pause and wonder, aside from the novelty of it, why was this jazzing me up so much?
Well the answer is quite simple really: the F-word
Not that one, the other one – the little three lettered one that seems to get pushed to the way-side, that falls to the bottom of our to-do list. That three lettered word that is reserved for the kids or scheduled in for next month, only to be stomped out by that nasty bigger, more domineering TEN lettered work: O-B-L-I-G-A-T-I-O-N or his pushy cousin S-H-O-U-L-D.
I’m talking about:
*F*U*N*
Where has it gone? When did it become something we forget about? Something we feel guilty about? Or something that gets linked in with a ‘should’ like exercise or eating right?
I’m talking about unbridled pure joyful Fun for the sake of Fun.
I was so jazzed up about the picnic because I was sorely missing fun in my life. Sure I was watching Downton Abbey every night, which is enjoyable, but not really fun. Sure I was going for awesome bike rides along the riverbank, but it wasn’t fun in its own right…I had forgone pure just-for-me FUN for all of my to-dos, obligations and shoulds.
So damn right I am going to have a BLAST on this picnic, but more importantly I am going to start looking for ways to reincorporate fun into my life everyday. I am going to put on my fav tunes and sing at the top of my lungs. I am going to have a private dance party in the middle of the afternoon, I am going to call up my girlfriend and have a long uninterrupted chat. These are the little things I can do everyday to ensure that I don’t get so f’ing depleted and dim down my life.
Because, go figure, when I am having fun, I am more fun to be around. It is contagious – I am happier, my husband is happier and my kids are happier.
What does fun look like for you? How often are you having fun? Drop me a note in the comments below and tell me how you are going to amp up your fun quotient every day.
Until next time,
Keep Calm and Shine On,
maria 🙂
