Play at Any Age

We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. ~ George Bernard Shaw

I think it is important to play. Yesterday, I watched one of the daughter’s of one of the members of the Chemin Neuf prayer group play as the adults worked. All it took was a simple laundry basket to transform her world. She forced me to be less serious about the task, to stop and join in the fun, and to laugh out loud at her silly antics.

I was trying to remember when the last time was that I played. I am not a humourless adult but I do not really play. I re-create. I leisure. I do activities. I laugh. But play? Hmmmm….I guess the last time I played might have been at the March Wellness Day I planned at work when I did Taiko drumming. That felt like playing. Play, when I looked up the definition, means to occupy oneself in amusement, sport, or other recreation. I guess I do that. Last week’s Storytelling Festival was play, especially the afternoon workshop.

As a kid, I played Tag, Kick the Can, Hide and Seek, Red Light/Green Light, Statues, What Time is it, Mister Wolf?, and other children’s games. I played with Barbie dolls. The neighbourhood children played Cops and Robbers and Cowboys and Indians. We recreated Dark Shadows and Elvis Presley movies. My brother was always Elvis and I think he also was always Barnabas, the Vampire protaganist in Dark Shadows (an afternoon soap opera about vampires, witches, and werewolves, long before Twilight or Vampire Diaries). It is funny but I don't remember my parts so much, maybe because the women's roles were not so exciting back then. We were so creative. I played all sorts of sports with my brother and his friends: baseball, football, and hockey. Dad always flooded the back yard in the winter to create a skating rink. In the summer, much to my mother’s chagrin, I climbed trees. I rode my bike. Play was endless.

Now I have to think hard about play in the active sense. Our family often played card games. When I was in Kelowna this spring, I rediscovered Cribbage which was fun (especially when I won!). Of course, when I was clowning, play was much more evident in my life.

However, I can find that playful spirit quite easily and certainly encourage it in others. This little walking laundry basket giggled at me and felt free to be herself. Play is important. Find some time soon!

Peace,

Suzanne