The Play's The Thing

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

Play.  Such a small word for what it signifies for me.  For me, to play means to have time when you are not taking life so seriously, to flex your creative muscles, to challenge conventions.  I aim to do this daily, and honestly, it is one of the main ways I spend my time.

I play with my food.  Not in the way you are thinking, like making a chicken dance or something.  Ok, sometimes I play with my food that way.  But mostly, I play with food by creating new recipes.  I play with flavors, seasonings, textures, colors.  If I were a mad scientist, my laboratory would be a gigantic kitchen.  I tweak and adjust existing recipes, and create new ones.  I just love to play with my food.

I play with my looks.  Anyone who has known me for longer than 2 months is likely to have seen me with at least 2 different hair colors.  I change my hair color and style frequently.  I go on binges where I paint my nails in unusual ways.  I play with clothing and accessories.  For me, every day is a chance to play dress up.

I play with my dogs.  Not a day goes by that I do not play with the dogs in some manner.  This past summer, the dogs learned to play fetch.  Soon they will get to play in the snow.  We play rough, chasing games, we play snuggle games, we make them dance, we pretend they can talk, we occasionally dress them up for photo shoots.  Our dogs are like living, licking, wriggling stuffed animals.

I play with toys.  Sure, maybe I no longer play with Barbies or Lincoln Logs, but I still play with toys.  We have more video and computer games in this house than I ever expected we would.  We play board games.  We play puzzle games.  We fiddle with smart phones, tablets, computers, cameras, GPS units, we purchase actual toys.  We are big kids at heart and I love it.

I play with words.  That is what this blog is.  In all the time I have been blogging, it has never stopped being fun.  I hope it never does.

I play with conventions.  People think they know me.  They have no idea.  Hubby used to say I was a mystery wrapped in an enigma, held together with duck tape and macrame.  I think it is one of my favorite compliments ever.  I hope I always keep people guessing.

So, what does play mean to me?  Well, to steal a line from Shakespeare, and totally reinterpret it, the play's the thing.  For me, play equals life.  I hope my life is always full of play, because when I am playing, I am really, really living.