I grew up as a miniature adult. The product of a teenage pregnancy, my father had little to do with me, and my mother was just angry that her life was ruined. I spent the first twelve years living with my grandparents.
Being mostly unwanted, I learned very early that I needed to take care of myself. I grew up on a farm in rural Iowa and started to have chores at an early age. I was old from an early age.
I will be 58 years old in a few months and planning my work retirement at 59 1/2. I’ve spent nearly my entire life working and am not planning on a new career. I have realized it is time to have my childhood. Oh, I don’t mean to suddenly become helpless and let someone take care of everything. I’m just not wired that way.
It is time to Play.
I’m not even sure I know how to do that. What?! Seriously?! Maybe I should say that I don’t know what play is for an adult. I guess I could think about it as the opposite of work. Aside from necessary activities for your existence, Work is doing something for someone on their time schedule with the expectation of something in return, as in wages. Wages are good and if you’ve saved enough of them you get to retire and still get them in a different form. So then Play would be doing something for yourself on your time schedule with the expectation of something in return. . . such as freedom and relaxation.
But can you only get that with Play?
Not necessarily. I think it is all about your experiences and perception. I think if you love what you do, and maybe you work for yourself, you can experience freedom and happiness. I believe it is all in how you invent your life.
My thoughts are full of these things as I start my transition. I’m tired of the grind and the stress. Many work environments are getting more faster-paced and more technology. The push to do more and more often is wearing on people. I am experiencing a great deal of that in my workplace. I come home tired and then go to bed a few hours later just to start it all over again. I’m getting past the point of even enjoying what I do.
I am ready for Play.
I constantly think about what I enjoy and how I want to incorporate all of that in my life. I am quite certain you will see many more of my blog posts. I look forward to daily exercise. Since I live so close to a lake, I hope to walk around it quite often. I love Pilates so that will be in my daily routine. Reading has always been my escape and relaxation so I will be able to settle in with a good book. I’ll make friends again with the local libraries. And to actually have time to watch a movie. And so on. Sigh. I guess I don’t really worry or wonder what I’ll do every day.
I think it is just time to go Play!
Loving Your Sh*T 