SallyRose Musings: Ring Number Three (Part III of V)

I see you're back for another dose of punishment. That's right, I can see you, right there with your nose up to the screen. So let me tell you this... your senses will be delighted today.

I have a question for you - What's your idea of fun? Don't all raise your hands at once now.

Fun for most people is that illusive time between miseries. Work isn't fun (unless you're me) haha... I LOVE my work. I heard a long time ago that when you choose a profession, choose the work you have a passion for and you will never work a day in your life. For me, no truer words were ever spoken.

Chasing the dollar isn't fun. Worrying about feeding your family and college tuition and getting that new car because the old one is nearly dead isn't fun. Credit card, utility, phone and mortgage payments aren't fun. We can be left wondering what's the point.

Housework isn't fun. Sick kids, 3 am feedings, yucky diapers and snotty noses aren't fun. Crabby spouses are definitely not fun. So what's a person to do?

We're all in this boat called Life together. We each give a little and take a little. There are no free rides. And the bottom line is that life truly is what you make it.

Oh, I hear you. "But what about illness and debt and???..... that's enough to weaken the strongest of the strong." The list goes on forever. I thought that way for a long time. Still do sometimes. We can slip into that feeling of how there's no justice in this world at any time. We can have our pity party for one and have a grand time doing it while we're at it too.

I have heard and probably said all the reasons for not having fun. I love that list. It's incredible the things the mind can come up with to keep itself in misery.

I'm to old to have fun.
I don't have any money.
There are more important things than having fun.
I'm too sick
I'm too weary.
There's just no time.
If it weren't for ____ (fill in the blank), THEN I could have fun.

Any of this sound familiar? I was given a formula years ago to achieve balance in my life. I was told that if any one of the four was missing, then my life would be out of balance. The four things were Work, Rest, Play and God. I thought about that for quite a while.

Truth is - I really didn't know how to have fun. My first attempt at playing was to buy a kite and go to the local park and try to get it airborne. I must have looked pretty weird at 35 out there flying a kite with no accompanying child to use as a cover.

But something happened to me that afternoon. As the kite flew upward I could feel the tug on the string. It reminded me of years past when I used to go fishing with my family. Those tugs felt like the fish biting on the fishing line. In essence, what happened is that I lost all sense of time. I was back fishing with my family. It was a time where I felt safe in this world. I was no longer flying a kite. I was sitting on the riverbank safe and secure with the breeze in my face.

I left there that day with a newfound freedom. My heart was full and my step was a little lighter. I had discovered, however slight, how to have fun.

Fun is a diversion from the reality that crushes us sometimes. Over the years I have cultivated quite an array of facets for my 'fun side." I love humor of all sorts. I love to laugh and experience the feeling of lightheartedness. Mostly, I love to make others laugh. For what we bring to others is shared twice.

Christmas time should be a time of gathering and fun. Some people have traditions that they wouldn't break no matter what. The important thing is that they are carried on and continued. It doesn't matter what the experience is just as long as it lives on. In the end, when we are old, we are left with those memories. We can revisit them any time we want. And we can feel and re-feel the good times, the love, the fun we all had... back in the day.

Today is one of the good old days we will be remembering 10 years from now. Gather with your family and friends. Create new traditions and know that they will sustain you when you have nothing left but time to think about them. Go back and hear the words all over again when you were gathered at the table. The noise was nearly deafening, the laughter loud and happy. And it seemed as though each sentence began with "Remember the time......?"

I'll leave you to your memories now and please know that my time with you is fun. You will be my 'remember whens." Now go out and make some new memories. One can never have too many. And let me make you smile one more time this year... enjoy!

Tata.... Number Four... in the making... Mmmmmmm...

Sing to me Baby