Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Play—and recover wonder

We've had so much snow in the Chicago area lately. I know we're not alone in that. Where my youngest son's family lives (they've just moved from Phoenix to the high desert area of Oregon), they don't have piles of snow. So when I recently sent an iPhone photo of the snow outside my front door, my 7-year-old granddaughter wanted to come visit me and make a snow woman with me. Her first thought was of play!

You just know my thoughts were not about play as the snow continued to fall for days! Of course, I thought about all the inconvenience and about how little I like winter. (I did think about the beauty at those times when I was able to stay inside and just look out on the beautiful snow-covered pines in my back yard, however.)

Where do we lose that sense of play and wonder? Or when? Of course, because we are now responsible adults, everything can't be about making snow angels and snow women or men. Somehow, though, I wonder if it's possible to hang onto some of that sense? Does it all have to be about practicality and responsibility? Can it be both/and rather than either/or?

What do you think? How do you find a balance for that in your life?

No comments:

Post a Comment