As a child my play time was spent riding my tricycle, then my bicycle, riding down the hill in my red wagon, or playing school with my dolls and stuffed animals. I would line them all up on the living room furniture and teach them the important things in life like the alphabet and how to count. When I got older play time was kick the can in the street or any other neighborhood game, calling boys- who had suddenly become “cute” sometimes hanging up before saying anything, swimming at our neighbors house, or horseback riding with my best friend. We rode horses almost every week. All of these things were so fun.
For many years in my youth I spend at least a few hours a day doing gymnastics. I would consider this play, because it was my favorite thing to do. I would never be an Olympic gymast, or even compete at a state level. I was ok with that, I was having a blast and loving all the time I was able to spend doing gymnastics. I had mastered a round off and several back hand springs, and also a round off-hand springs and then a back tuck. I could do some tricks or stunts on all of the apparatus, but not a lot of tricks. I could do quite a bit of tricks on the trampoline. I could spend hours on a trampoline. It was such fun.
When I started dating my sweetheart, we did sport activities while on dates. It was amazing to me how good he is at everything; tennis, racket ball, skiing, golf, ping pong, and so on. When we would play together I often got frustrated, because I was so bad at all of these things. It was plain to see that he was enjoying himself while playing more than me.
As the years of our marriage have gone by, I have grown more interested in accomplishing projects, like sewing, and working on keeping our memories organized. At this point in my life, this is play. If I ever have a few hours or even a few days, I will spend it scrapbooking, or making something.
Sometimes I send my Darlin off to play a sport with friends while I “play” in the office working on the memories of our lives, or sewing a fun project for our home. It’s amazing how through the years what is considered fun changes. I’m glad it does, and so it should.