Rediscovering Play

I took time to play this past week. I played like, well I played like a 13 year old, because I spent a few days on a road trip with my grandson. First time, he and I, and we are already discussing next year’s trip.

I picked him up Tuesday morning and we set out on the road towards our destination of Leavenworth, Washington, a little Bavarian-themed mountain town in the Cascade Mountains of central Washington. With no definitive plans, and very few rules (rule #1 – no rules around food) we decided on the less traveled, longer route, because we could!

Our destination was a sweet little cabin resort just outside of town, and when we arrived, we decided to take it easy by exploring the property and stopping at the café for pizza and ice cream.

And oh, the next day… River tubing, mini golf, good eats and even shopping kept us busy all day long. A few bumps and bruises later, and we settled in for a good night’s sleep for the long trek back to his home. It was a good time.

Play is important. It fuels our imagination, it let’s us forget about all the adult stuff, it brings joy. I know there are plenty of studies around play in adults, and I don’t want to overthink this (talk about a buzzkill), so I’m not even going down that road.

What is your definition of play, how would you describe it? In her book Playful Awakening, Di Gammage describes it like this: “Play is mysterious and magical, mercurial and trickster like. It is exploratory, taking us out of what we believe we know and into unfamiliar territory.” Pretty spot on, I think.

Rediscover play for yourself. It’s free and available to everyone. So scream at the top of your lungs in joy. Say yes to something you might otherwise say no to. Dig in the dirt, make mud pies. Fly a kite. Build sandcastles. Break some rules. Remember what it’s like being a kid again. Play will find you, and if you’re open enough to it, it will indulge you.