I Just Want To Have More Fun

I woke up this morning with a raging headache. And a couple emails in my inbox I did not want to deal with.

Ugh. Too much undesired, passionless (?) responsibility.

Hello Monday.

I blame the headache on weather change, stress from last week and upcoming, and the fact that I was hunched over for quiet some time yesterday while finishing off some cute little requests by the boys. (That part was really really fun! Just not good on the ol' neck muscles.)

Mostly I blame it on stress though and unnecessary requests by others. I should have thought through some stuff and perhaps done something about the other stuff.

When does life stop being fun? I know I'm all grown up and stuff now and with that comes responsibility (duh) but truly, when did life stop being fun? And, why do we let this happen?

I actually think it happens sometimes during those seasons of life. Bit by bit, we accept too much - pile our plates too high. Perhaps it's the thrill of the moment, or it's seeing so much we want to change that saying "yes" just feels like the right thing to do.

In. The. Moment.

But one thing about which I am constantly reminded is that this is our only shot. We only go 'round once...well, unless you're a Buddhist or something I guess - then you'd better watch out, unless you've been saintly. (I'd likely return as a worm or an ant or something. No particular reason other than I'm not a saint.)

I digress. Life, as a general principle should be fun. Life has to be fun - really enjoyable at the very least. I don't mean every part of every waking moment should be filled with gut-aching-laughs. But there needs to be a time we can set aside each day or each week, when we can look back and say honestly and truly that more of our day was spent in enjoyment than not.

If it's not, then what the heck is the point?

I realize bankruptcies, tough decision making and life's sorrows are seasons during which it won't come up all rosy. These are the times that help shape our character. They help us become better people.

But as I look at my kids and wonder why they never want to go to bed and why they can't wait to get up in the morning, and why they want to run out in the rain, and why they incessantly want to go to the slide park near our house and why they love chasing our dog around the house...it's because they are having fun. They don't know enough yet, to know otherwise. Sadness, unfairness, inequality is short lived. Their days are filled with smiles, doing what they enjoy, stearing clear (whenever possible) of that which they are not passionate about.

So, here's to saying "no" more often.

Here's to embracing those things in which I find passion and a longing ache to change and make better - not just in the moment, but each day.

Here's to seeking the best in people.

Here's to colouring The Man With The Yellow Hat blue, and George purple.

Here's to mix matching the playdough colours and it being okay.

Here's to dancing in the rain and playing at the wet, soggy park.

Here's to taking a more childlike perspective whenever possible.

Here's to not wasting parts of life on negativity but rather having fun.

Here's to doing what I say I'll do.

Here's to gripping responsibility with a passion and sucking it up to see that which I do not enjoy to completion.

Here's to growing, if only a bit, each day.

Here's to looking up, looking forward, but not ignoring the here and now.

Because just because I'm all old and stuff, doesn't mean I should ever stop having fun.

I read about someone the other day who, in a couple of months will pick up her life, her kid and she is moving. She's decided to go east for awhile. Not permanently (I don't believe) but just for now. At first I thought "wow" amazing. Then I thought, why not? She wants to. She has the ability. So why not. Life is what we make it.

It would be shameful to look back at the end of my long, long life (and longevity does run in my family) and wish I'd smiled more, laughed harder, and played with everything I had to give. I'm not necessarily a live-in-the-moment kind of gal, but in our own way we can each find fun, peace, passionate fulfillment and more enjoyment.

I'm sure of it.