I have a couple of friends who tease me for not doing “fun” things or not liking “fun” things. I have reflected on this a lot. I have realized that over the years I no longer want/need as much entertainment. I have found there are wholesome things that will rebuild me that don’t entertain me. My needs and desires have simply changed.
I find recharge and enjoyment in:
Walking on a beach, looking for seashells, and splashing with my family in the ocean
Watching my children play in a ditch and catching water skippers
Sitting around a camp fire and talking with family and friends
Reading a book to my children on the couch
Walking through a historical site and honoring those who have gone on
Visiting the elderly with my family and singing them Primary songs
Picking up the neighbors trash that a dog knocked over with my kids
Doing “family work” together
Riding horses with my children (or usually just watching them)
Walking around Temple Square
Going to the Temple with my husband on a date
Eating watermelon on the deck with my family
Listening to my daughter Liberty sing patriotic songs while she practices for her next event
I do not find enjoyment in:
(Please do not take offense if you pursue these activities. I'm not saying you shouldn't do them I'm only saying that I do not enjoy doing them. Please respond to the principle that I'm discussing, not the items).
Sitting by a pool, getting sunburned and being surrounded by throngs of people in clothes that show too much skin and are constantly yelling at their kids
Standing for hours in line at an amusement park, eating food that makes me sick (from all the salt and sugar), and getting a head ache from too much sun
Reading brain candy or twaddle fiction
Going shopping for things my family doesn’t need
Sitting around eating junk food resulting in me feeling sick and bloated
Playing Wii/Play Station
Listening to the radio
Sitting on the computer and trying to “reconnect” with friends on Facebook
Playing Farmville or other on line games
Crafting
Stamping
I have come to realize that I was relying too much on the outside world to entertain me. I no longer want to be entertained. To me that means I am killing time or ‘surviving’. I want to enjoy my time. I don’t want to kill it or hurry it along. I want to be in the moment and so I need all those moments to be wholesome so I can truly appreciate my family and my friends. I want to enjoy my mortality. I want to BE.
6 comments:
I feel the same way. And I always felt a little bad that I was being the boring (and weird) one. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one! Though I still like SOME useful crafts...like quilting. :)
Yep, it's official, I have to meet you sometime! I was just heckled the other day about needing to get out and how sorry people felt that my car was always in the driveway. Also with my husband being gone everyone is trying to take my kids! I'm lonely enough without my eternal companion and best friend, why do people want to take my babies too? *laugh* I know they're just thinking that it's a lot to care for everyone, which it is, and they want to help, but they don't get how fulfilling and recharging it is to cuddle on the couch with my kids and read. I love that your fun to do list really focuses on family, that truly is where our greatest strength is found! Thanks for the essays :-)
Chrerie-We will have to meet! :)
Jennifer- I think quilting is VERY useful, I don't consider it a craft though. I think that it is creating/art. In my mind I see crafting as wasting resources and time. I see quilting, crocheting, knitting, restoring furniture, photography, upholstery work (curtains, recovering furniture, etc), for example as creating and art based. It is probably just semantics though, but like I said 'crafting' is something I don't find enjoyment in, not something you shouldn't do. : )
I like to bake "for fun". And plan menus and gather recipes. I also love to study nutrition and garden. I would rather read than just about anything else. I like to sit and watch my children play and try to make them laugh. I love to walk with my family, provided nobody steps or sits on a cactus. I can't quilt though. I hope we can still be friends.
Crazy-We'll always be friends! : ) See you soon!
I love your list of "fun." I feel that way too. I'm glad to know that there are other mothers who can enjoy real life without feeling the need to be entertained or fill their time with time wasters.
I love your new blog! I am trying to pace myself as I read through all of the great new essays you are posting.
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