everydayexperiments

This weekend, I took a long walk by the river in the morning. While the sun was shining, it was cold and windy, and there weren’t as many people out and about as usual. Despite the cold, I walked a little longer that day, and when I got to the end of the path, I saw an old woman by herself swinging on a swing set. Completely uninhibited and playful, I watched her swing back and forth, realizing that I had forgotten the feeling of what it’s like to swing. It’s been so long that I was on a swing that I can’t even remember the correct verbage to use when describing swinging. Do you push your legs? Pedal your legs? Extend your legs?

Regardless, at that moment, the woman embodied playfulness and freedom. I tried to take a picture of her on my iphone, but it didn’t turn out as I wanted and I didn’t want to distract her with my poor photography attempts.

So today, in honor of her, I will do something playful. My friend Laura bought a coloring book a few weeks ago to color at her office in between patients; my other friend plays cards at night with her boyfriend. While playing hide and seek in my apartment is probably a little far fetched (considering it only has 1.5 rooms) I’m going to find someway to play today (even if it’s talking to an imaginary friend). And, if the day passes without me doing anything, I’ll at least have to build a fort in my bedroom before I go to sleep.

§ 2 Responses to I Will Play.

• Jared Angaza says:

  April 5, 2011 at 9:50 am

  One of our commitments this year is to deliberately apply whimsey liberally in our every day lives, not just once in a while. I think we’re all the type of people that do it from time to time, but making an everyday habit out of it is life altering. It helps so much with keeping a healthy perspective on life.

  I look at people like Bob Goff as an example of this. Totally uninhibeted and just wanted to serve people and enjoy the life we’ve all been granted.

  And you, Kerry, are certainly a petitioner of whimsey as well.
• Teri @ StumblingAroundInTheLight says:

  March 29, 2011 at 10:25 pm

  This is great!
  okay – gonna join the fun –
  I commit to playing a game with my kids this evening!!
  Thanks!!