The great thing about reaching middle age and being an empty nester as a GenX’er in my mid 50s is that I’m very skilled at occupying myself with play/fun. And the great thing is that in my present life I have time for play in a way that I had not had since my teens and twenties. Up until six years ago my daily life was overflowing with tasks and responsibilities that ate up my time. Then I found myself with the expanse of time, around work of course, and my life opened in amazing ways. I finally had time to do things for fun. I felt like I had more in common with people in their 20s than people my age with kids still at home. And bonus… I feel better at my age now because I don’t have all the insecurities I did in my previous decades. So, yes, I do have play in my daily life now. Even though I’m battling breast cancer and even on my bad days, even though right now going through chemo, it’s play, even in small doses, that gets me through. My hubs keep things interesting with his 61, I mean 12-year-old, humor.
I think of play as leisure and enjoyment that can take many forms. I play games on my phone daily and read weird things from the internet. When I’m well enough and over the past six years these are the things that I do for fun: reading, writing, playing music (violin), listening and singing loudly to old and new music, travelling at least 2 big trips a year and as many weekend trips that I can squeeze into my budget, going out to hang out with my friends, going to outdoor concerts and sporting events, watching a good movie or documentary, learning something new just for fun, creating a good meal, dining out, doing crafts or art or crochet. And recently I’ve been getting back into classic board games.
I’m about to start something new, learning to play cello. Why? Because I think it will be fun and it’s something that I was interested in many years ago. My old orchestra mate, my 2nd chair, and bestie when we were young, Dottie Brandenburg Thomas, called me a few days ago when she heard about my cancer, we had been off each other’s radar for a while, and suggested that we do it out of the blue. It’s something to look forward to when I’m well enough.
Our Humble Road 
I like your thoughts on play and leisure! Congrats on starting up the cello – did you play in the past?
I started piano lessons about 7 years ago. I had never played before. I stopped lessons a year ago (during and after covid they were FaceTime calls when my instructor moved away), but I still play! It’s relaxing and I enjoy it. I hope you feel the same about your cello lessons!
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When I was in school, I played the violin and I’ve gone through short spurts of playing in my adult life. I’ve never played a cello. So, it would be something new to me. The piano always daunting to me. Kudos to you for taking on that challenge and sticking to it.
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You played the violin and the piano was daunting? 😂. You’re a rock star in my book!
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