I'm reading a fantastic new book - The Happiness Project. Loosely related to the (dare I say) self-help family, it is the author's year long quest to recover genuine life happiness and to live that happiness every.single.day. It was recommended by my book savvy bff, Carissa (props to her), and is also where I found "emotional contagion".
I'm reading the chapter "May: Be Serious About Play" and she (the author) is reconnecting with the kinds of "play" that make her happy. Honestly happy. Not the activities she wants to enjoy, but the ones she truly enjoys. During the process, she writes that someone asked her "What did you like to do when you were a child? What you enjoyed as a ten-year-old is probably something you'd enjoy now."
This peaked my curiosity. What did I like to do when I was little and would it have any relevance on things i'm doing now?
When I was 5 I enjoyed...
barbie dolls - could've played with them for hours
making mud pies with old pie tins and "cooking" with my Fisher Price stove
swinging outside
dressing up with mom's clothes and shoes
pretend work: waitress, teacher, nurse
playing "house" in my tree house in the woods
disney movies - a "magic kingdom family disney movie" always aired on sunday nights
future goals: to be a teacher during the day and work at mcdonald's at night. and to live in my little-girl bedroom with my husband when we got married (sounds more like a nightmare than a fantasy).
When I was 10 I enjoyed...
exploring in the woods
dressing up with mom's clothes and shoes
rollerskating and bike-riding
real cooking - or rather, making concoctions that only i would eat
swinging
reading - but not school-assigned reading. i loved ramona quimby and charlotte's web.
barbies, on occasion - though i'm certain i wasn't admitting it to my friends
dancing - mostly ballet
disney movies
future goals: sadly, i don't remember. but if i had to guess i would say to be a teacher or a doctor. i was very interested in being a doctor until i realized that i wouldn't give shots, was disgusted at the thought of cutting someone open, and didn't like nasty smells. i do know that i wanted my parents to come and live with me and my husband in our house (we're making progress).
When I was 15 I enjoyed...
driving my worn-in chevy blazer
reading - un-school related reading
keeping a journal of my thoughts and activities
writing poetry and short stories (constantly writing at this age)
watching 90210 when i got home from school - yea, i said it
swinging on front porch swings
flirting with boys - oh so important
camping
sleeping late
my future goal(s): to be a teacher. to learn to play the guitar (which i did many years later). to fall madly in love (also did that... a few times). to get married, start a family, and have a dog (done, done, and done). to be extremely wealthy with lots of "stuff". to buy a beach house for my parents to retire in (maybe one day).
Sometimes we try and force ourselves into these little boxes of what we should like to do instead of taking stock in what we DO like to do. This exercise helped me to realize a few things. I have always been interested in cooking and given the money and time would chef-up tremendous meals every night. I probably should have been a teacher. I am still obsessed with dress up - clothes, accessories, and especially shoes. Although I really want to read great classic literature I am usually distracted, happily, by new best-selling fictions. I traded in my roller skates and bike for a car and boys. The times when I kept a journal were some of my happiest and most self-aware. It is likely that I will never again be afforded the luxury of sleeping late - late being anything after 9:30am. It probably wasn't the best move to quit dancing at the age of 11 and it might be interesting to try my hand at adult ballet - I would totally rock a too-too! Though it might be hazardous to say aloud, I prefer to sit on the couch and watch mindless TV over heaps of other activities. I miss the smell of campfires in the Fall but exploring in the woods holds no interest. I'm excited to have an excuse (with Sully) to re-watch all of those great Disney movies. Swinging is an activity that should be enjoyed at any age whether on a playground or a porch - it encourages freedom and simplicity.
a few new goals for 2010:
-buy a bicycle and actually use it
-go roller/ice-skating
-buy an outdoor rocking chair and find a park near our new neighborhood with swings
-write a children's short story
-start a journal - realistically i will aim for one entry per week
-arrange a weekend camping trip this fall
