What’s Going to Happen?

Work before play … work before play … work before play … this concept has (somehow) been ingrained into the very core of my being … no time for fun … no fun allowed … forget about fun …

Work … work … work … oh, you’ve got some “spare” time? Get to work! Surely, there’s something productive you could be doing … clean something … organize something … declutter something … oh, you want to read something? Well, make sure it’s useful … learn something … be something more … find something new to work on … oh, you want to watch something? No smut allowed … learn … grow … be more … do more …

My inner dialogue, when even CONSIDERING something remotely fun, gets so sickening sometimes … it’s life squashing … it’s joy sucking … and it’s REALLY been getting to me lately …

Yes, being productive and accomplishing things and taking care of our responsibilities is important … but you know what else is important?

Fun!

And laughter!

And joy!

And while we sometimes believe “fun” to be expensive and extravagant and all-encompassing … like hot holidays or big get-aways or special events, “fun” doesn’t have to be a major event in your life. It can be invited in and welcomed in many small ways throughout your day …

add some music and a little kitchen dancing to your meal-prep time
take a few minutes to try out some diamond painting at the kitchen table … heck, maybe even really mix it up and do some diamond painting AND Iisten to a “for fun” audiobook that outlines the trials of motherhood in a humourous, light-hearted way … don’t forget to smile when the author says something that really “hits home”
tinker away on the keyboard in the basement … heck, maybe even pretend you can sing … singing is SO MUCH FUN …
play hide-and-seek with the kids … even I can get behind the excitement and anticipation of being “found”
be spontaneous … it’s OKAY (and actually even kind of fun) to break out into a random game of wet sock tag with the whole family sometimes
take a few minutes to love on your precious house plants
sew something
listen to a funny podcast
or get jokes sent to your phone …

Lately, when I hear my “inner critic” questioning me about my attempts to have fun (especially DURING THE DAY, DURING THE WEEK … because Lord knows weekdays are supposed to be drudgery, right?), I speak aloud, “What’s going to happen?”