How do you relax and have fun? Do you seek out adventure, fun experiences and things that make you smile, or are you always serious, looking at the next chore? Does it have to be one or the other – can’t we be sometimes serious and sometimes fun loving?

We’re taught from a young age to be serious, to work hard, to get things done. At least that’s what I was taught, and what was modelled to me. I probably and unwittingly passed this into my children. Hindsight’s a great thing, not, but if I could go back, I’d try harder to give my kids a sense of fun and adventure. Hopefully as adults they’ve worked it out by now.

It’s not like anyone teaches us how to relax and have fun. No one tells us it’s time to play, laugh and let our hair down. I was a serious child, I remember that. I don’t think I laughed much, or got up to much mischief, until I was a teenager, but that’s a different story.  

I’m still that serious kid. I still want a list of chores and to complete tasks and tick them off my list. It’s what makes me smile. That sense of accomplishment. I remember being asked once, what I do for fun, what makes me laugh, and I couldn’t answer it. That question still bemuses me.

I know what I enjoy – reading, writing, and gardening. Spending time with a few special individuals. Is that the same as having fun? I like having lists and getting things done. I can’t handle not knowing what I’m doing from one minute to the next. Being impulsive is okay, making plans on the go is okay too. I don’t need to know what I’m doing every minute of the day, as long as there is a long term plan.

Back to my original question – How do you relax and have fun? That sense of adventure and that childlike sense of anticipation and excitement. Maybe I’ll try not to take life too seriously. It’s something I’m definitely going to put on my to do list!