Hello!!! Long time no blogging! 

Ok, so apparently, I went from a coked-out horse named Betsy to something slower than a slug! What can I say, I refuse to beat myself up for life hitting me hard, and causing way too long of a stall on my blog? Okay, truthfully, I’ve been beating myself up a little, but not for not getting my act together. This blog is meant to be a fun hobby (even if touching on hard subjects). So, I have come to realize that I may not be consistent, but I will keep going. Although, I will let you know that I have pre-written some great posts, I just needed to get some specific ones out first, especially since I talked about them in my last blog, like mummies and hunting killers! 

I will say that following the trend of my last blog, there have been a few crazy things going on that have kept me busy. One, just as life isn’t chaotic enough, we decided to launch a new business which required me creating a website, bank accounts, and professional documents, etc. 

I mentioned in my last blog that I’ve been having fun trying some silly new things, but I didn’t explain why, other than Covid of course! A few years ago, I went to a volunteer event by a professional organization I am part of to listen to a new speaker. I try to attend these to be inspired, force myself to do the dreaded networking, and try to “be out there more”. It’s too easy as an introvert to shy away from these types of situations to the point that we are completely hidden from any opportunities or development that could occur.

Anyhoo, I went to this one because it sounded a little unique for this organization. The topic was simply “Play: Why adults stop playing, and why we should re-learn to play”. I thought this would be interesting, especially since this group tends to be mostly corporate managers, accountants, lawyers etc., so not the type of people you think of being fun and silly in their off-time. 

I’ve always professed to being a big kid at heart, so I was curious to see what I could learn. I have always been able to go into toy stores and giggle my butt off while wanting to buy random objects. I think it helps that many of my friends don’t have kids, so maybe we’ve decided to remain kids ourselves? I mean, you should see our game and Lego collections!

I don’t think I learned anything earth-shattering from the speaker, but they did mention how easy it is for us to get caught up in our busy lives, work, kids, volunteer committees, etc., and when we do have down time, we tend to crash in front of TVs. I know I am a TV and movie junkie. I have used them as escapism for my entire life. I’m also a nerd, so all of the comic movies and TV shows are a "must" for me. The speaker didn’t say anything was wrong with that, but it doesn’t truly stimulate our brain in the way “play” does. They talked about the benefits of play, other than just zoning out of our “real lives”. There have been studies that have proven that doing fun things helps us relax and become rejuvenated, and some can even help improve the problem-solving parts of our brains (now wouldn’t that help many of us at work!). Various types of play and trying new things can improve the connections in our brains. It also can increase our abilities to trust, be empathetic towards others, increase compassion, and even intimacy. 

For me the kicker was remembering that this is also a good way to become more “present”. I have so many anxiety issues that I will analyze what happened that day or think about potential discussions or issues that will occur in the next few days, until I become frozen. I can go down deep rabbit holes and forget to enjoy the here and now.

The other thing they discussed was that most adults lose the ability to be silly. To let go, laugh, or to try new things even though we know we will be crap at it but to just try, have fun, and laugh at ourselves. As we age, we have fought to get taken seriously in our work, our relationships, etc., that we lose the playfulness sides from our youth. 

I know for me, growing up in a very traditional German household, that being silly wasn’t encouraged. We did play games, but they tended to be more traditional board or card games. If we got “too out of hand”, we were told to stop being so dumb or silly. Sadly, this has caused me to have anxieties in casual situations. Opportunities come up to try something new, but because it’s in front of others, I find I always make an excuse to not try, despite wanting to, because I don’t want to “appear silly or stupid”. Ugh, how many things have I missed out on trying because of my hang-ups. Sigh, thanks mom & dad! 

So, over the past few years, I’ve tried to recognize situations I would want to shy away from, and force myself to say yes. I’ve tried to learn to laugh at myself more and try new things. 

I’ve been using the term “play” but what does that really mean? It can be anything you do that you can have fun with that’s not your normal routine. It’s dressing up more than normal to go out for the night, wearing a fancy hat, trying new restaurants, games, etc., or going out without a destination in mind. You could drive somewhere you’ve never been, just to see what’s there. It can be as simple as doing a jigsaw puzzle (I enjoy these with friends over a good bottle of vino, or two). Buy a cheap canvas, some paints and brushes, just to see what happens. You don’t need to create art to share with the world or put on your walls, but create just to have fun. Maybe try finger painting! Get messy! 

So, with the chaos of the world that has happened with Covid, we’ve all been stuck a lot at home (or I hope you have been). So, instead of mourning the loss of seeing friends, bands, travelling, etc., we decided to see what things we’ve had in our house that we’ve “always wanted to do, but never had time for”.

I’m amazed at all of the fun things that we have recently done, nights of laughing, getting way too enthralled in what is a kid’s “toy/game”, and what new things we have discovered. I’ve taken some amazing photos and will share some collages as I write about the various activities we’ve enjoyed. I know this is adding to the previous teasers I mentioned in my last blog, but I wanted to give everyone some food for thought before I jumped right in with the “projects”. 

If you feel you haven’t played or had fun in a long time, start small, but try something new, or something old that you used to enjoy but have “stopped having time for” and make time, start things up again or buy a puzzle! 

TV/Movies: Talking about fun, I’ve enjoyed watching the eye-candy that is the last season of Lucifer and Wynonna Earp. I have also been delving into all of the episodes of Hasan Minhaj’s “Patriot Act”. He’s amazing at explaining things, while using examples to really get the listener to understand.  The show can be heartbreaking, and will often make you frustrated and angry, but it’s better to have this knowledge than put your head in the sand. 

Reading: I am re-reading “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams. I read this way too long ago, and felt it was time to re-read and laugh. It’s brilliant. I need to carry my towel with me, especially with what’s happening to our world.

Podcasts: I will admit, I’ve been so busy doing fun projects that I haven’t really listened to my podcasts recently! Time to get back to some of my podcasts!

Music: Maybe because I’ve been enjoying some more light-hearted fun, I’ve been listening to a lot of Erasure, and my eternal love, David Bowie. 

I will finally show the mummy creation in my next blog!