With all the stress and deadlines and just trying to keep up with day to day "gotta-do" projects, I sometimes have to remind myself to take a little time to just "goof off". I'm not talking about an activity that's been scheduled or structured - I mean just doing something silly or unexpected and definitely impromptu and totally out of place.
When my kids were little, it might mean being in the middle of cleaning house and catching a glimpse of one of them outside with friends, looking bored... until I attacked with the water balloons or the shaving cream. Boredom quickly turned to screams of surprise, laughter, and of course, a memory being made. Or those days when we'd break routine (school, work, whatever) and spend the day at the zoo, or a museum, or taking a nature walk. It was not only a learning experience for the kids, it gave us the time to bond and get back in touch with each other.
Now that the kids are grown and off finding ways to goof off with their own families, my husband and I love to find ways to break up our stress filled days with simple silliness. One of our favorite things is to develop "literal disease" - which means something as simple as receiving a phone call from him asking where I am:
Him: Hi honey, where are you?
Me: In the car
Him: Where's the car?
Me: On the Road
Him: (starting to laugh as he catches on) What Road?
Me: The black one with the white dashed lines....
by the end of the phone call, we're both laughing and our stress levels are definitely reduced. (note - this is only cool if you have hands free mobile phones in your car, no driving while distracted, please!)
We also love to play practical jokes, although sometimes those do have to be planned in advance. But trust me, dressing up like Chewbacca was worth it! Switching out honey for the soap in the bathroom was pretty fun too...
The bottom line is... goofing off can be proactive and productive when it's done reasonably and realistically. Taking a short mental break lets your mind regroup AND helps your body to start firing off some wonderful healthy happy hormones and can just make life so much more bearable. I'd love to hear about some of your favorite "goofing off" activities!!!
2 comments:
I agree on the goofing off. Of course hubby tends to like to cross the lines from goofing off to just plain annoying! lol.
In general I think this is the best outlook to take on life! I mean, really, does worrying ever change anything? However, laughter can and does change the world! :) Thanks for this- it was fun!
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