Spend time with young people

My youngest granddaughter, who will be 12 in September, flew from Portland to Chicago as an unaccompanied minor more than a week ago to visit me for two weeks. We have been having so much fun together, and we still have the rest of this week to enjoy each other's company.

This time with Payton allows me to access the young girl in me again. It's a reminder that we still have inside us every age and stage we've ever been. The young girl is never totally gone, even when we're grandmas! Unfortunately, sometimes the stresses and strains of life cause us to forget the playfulness and wonder that we so easily accessed when we were far younger. Hanging out with young adults and young children helps us get back in touch with those qualities, however. It reminds us of the hope and optimism we felt before becoming so jaded.

If you have young children in your life, try to spend time with them whenever you can. It's good for us to embrace our playful side. It's healthy to see the world with awe, wonder and amazement. It's just plain fun to feel the joy and exuberance of even the most ordinary things in our daily life.

You're never too old to embrace your Inner Child!

Productivity and play

"What do you have to let go of to have more fun?" a friend recently asked my circle of YaYa friends. What a good question, I thought.

Each of us responded in slightly different fashion. But one of the themes running through those responses seemed to be that of responsibility. Each of us is a strong woman, used to grabbing hold and getting things done. We've been used to being productive and perhaps even over-functioning. Wonder Woman costumes aren't foreign to us! We're always so darned responsible.

Then in another group of which I'm part, a similar topic arose; and it was clear that most of us were highly geared to productivity and responsibility. We had learned as children, "Get your work done first. Then if there's time and energy, you can play. Fun comes after work." Old tapes can be difficult to let go.

Do you resonate with any of this?

So, is it OK to just let things be and play first? Can we drop our scheduled to-do list for the day and run off with a friend or our partner and just do something fun? Might that feed our souls and spirits more than crossing items off our to-do list? Might that bring more joy into our lives—and thus, into the world?

My friend asked a good question, and I plan to reflect more on it—and see what changes I might make in how I live. What about you?

Letting go—into fun

Yesterday I quoted a line from the recent movie Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I have yet another quote from that movie today that struck me so much that I had to write it down in the theater: "Let go. That's when the fun starts."

It's been said that we spend the first half of life building a "self." We gather things from our parents, classmates and peers, others around us, books, TV and society in general. Soon enough, we have the behaviors, habits, beliefs, tapes and messages that comprise us and lead us through our lives. However, when we get to mid-life and beyond, we see that some of those behaviors, beliefs and messages don't really work very well. So we have to unlearn some things. To some degree, we have to let go of old ways of thinking and being. We find ways that are more authentic to who we really are—often ways that are more healthy and holistic.

This involves a lot of letting go. That has sort of become my mantra these days, "Let go, Sonia, let go." "That doesn't work anymore. Maybe it never did. Let it go." And that's when the fun starts. It's fun to become more authentic, to drop some of the masks, some of the old tapes (for me, some of those were limiting messages about what girls and women should and shouldn't do) and behaviors. So that quote leaped right from the screen into my heart, and I resonated.

What do you think? Does letting go signal the start of good things for you? If so, let go. Let go some more. Let the fun begin!

Take a play break

Do you ever play anymore? Or do you think you're too old for that?

Actually, the older I get, the more I recognize the importance of play. We all need breaks from the seriousness and heaviness of life. We need to let our brains rest and amp up our creativity with some play. And by "play," I don't mean competitive sports or even card games such as bridge. I mean play, as in what children engage in when they become totally absorbed and erupt in smiles and giggles.

I read recently that there are coloring books for adults, so if that's your thing, go to. I often colored and drew with my grandchildren—and now I'm thinking that I really shouldn't have stopped since I enjoy it myself! And Play-Doh. That just feels good as you work it with your hands and shape it into all sorts of things. You can really have a lot of fun with that.

What about building things with Legos or other blocks? And I knew a therapist once who kept a sandbox in her basement. She said that was her therapy when she was drained from helping everyone else with their problems.

Maybe you like to play with the equipment on a playground—swing as high as you can, for example. Nothing wrong with that ... at any age.

Go ahead. Find something that symbolizes pure relaxation, fun and play to you. Enjoy it—and all the side benefits you'll no doubt experience.

Fun & function

Is there any law that says we can't have fun while waiting at a traffic light for the signal to turn green so we can cross the street? Apparently, someone thought it would be fun to design such a signal. It combines fun and function. I found a YouTube video of it.

So some person created a traffic signal with a dancing figure that has lots of moves to show you while you wait for the light to turn green. Not only does the signal encourage people to dance on the sidewalk in sheer joy while they wait, but the signal has been shown to be more effective—81 percent more people stopped at the signal where this was tested. So, let's see: people happily dancing on the sidewalk and most likely spreading joy during the rest of their day OR people crabbily waiting for the signal to turn, or worse yet, dashing across the street in front of fast-moving cars? Hmm, that's a no-brainer.

So, are there ways we can make ordinary, everyday—and sometimes irritating—tasks more fun? We can combine fun and function. I know women who dance in their kitchens while they're preparing meals. Good exercise. Good fun. And the meals get done. They may even taste better because they're made with more love and more joy!

How can you add some fun into your daily tasks today? Go for it. There's nothing that says the mundane can't also be enjoyable.