How do you spend a gift of time? Choose to PLAY and have some FUN!

There is almost nothing better than a genuine, city’s-shut-down-so-you-might-as-well-enjoy-it kind of a snow day.  Make it a Monday, and it can be pure heaven. Although the severity of weather will vary across the world–I suspect Hawaii and Florida may find the break in monsoons instead of blizzards – a surprise, weather-induced day-off is a universal phenomenon that many of us can appreciate.

It’s like a mandated sabbatical from the universal conscience, whatever you accept that to be.

I was discussing this with my neighbor as we dragged an orange sled up the hill, determined to see if we could make a run all the way from the top to the bottom without crashing into any mailboxes along the way.

We decided it felt like “And God said, let there be rest!”  No, really!

Oh, and let there be quiet and peace. Let things slow down and relax their pace.  Let there be family togetherness without a national holiday. Perhaps most of all, let there be play!

During my college years, we prided ourselves on our simple philosophy: we worked hard, and we played hard.  There was a symmetry to that --life had a strong sense of balance. 

Little did we know how hard that would be to maintain as we launched into the ‘real’ world.

As adults, we seem to have the work side of that equation down pat.  We work at the office, we work at home, we help kids with their homework, and we even ‘work-out’ at exercise.  I know one woman who took a month to learn to ski and called it her ‘ski-job.’

But the play side of the equation?  Well, that definitely gets the short end of the stick.

I believe in the Power of Play™.  I run workshops about it, and teach people to identify their play styles (for more on this read the book “PLAY: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul” by Stuart Brown, MD, Founder of the National Institute for Play).

In fact, I introduced it to a mother-daughter retreat on Saturday, just hours before a recent snowstorm blanketed my world, like a mother tucking in a toddler for a nap.  

When I teach about play-types, I emphasize finding ways to play in our everyday lives, including our work.  It’s amazing how much you can rejuvenate your work when you remember to connect it to how you play!  As Brown says, “In the long run, work does not work without play.”

The good news, for me, is that I absolutely love my work, so much that I forget I’m working.  The bad news, for my family and myself, is that I tend to work way too much.

So the snow day was as important for me as it was for the kids. I got a chance to practice what I preach.

The snow fell fast in Atlanta.  We had 3 inches in less than two hours and it kept snowing, which is outrageous here.  My family ventured outside to enjoy the winter wonderland building its stage outside our door.  I resisted my initial urge to stay warm and inside.  I layered up, and joined the party.

Like different parts of a symphony, it was as if an invisible conductor was in charge.  One by one, each of our neighbors’ doors opened. Within 10 minutes, there were more than 20 people – adults and children—sledding and throwing snowballs, laughing with pure enjoyment.

It was 10:30 p.m. and the street was alive with multiple generations at play.

School had already been cancelled for the next day. We were enjoying every moment of that gift, a welcome break from routine that, while forced, was gratefully received by all.

After sleeping in the next morning – the gift that keeps on giving – we started with a blank slate.  We planned soups and stews, another excursion into the snow (now compromised by ice-- a new adventure), games and get-togethers. 

When there is nothing you really HAVE to do it is a pleasure to get to think about what you WANT to do.

It turns out what I wanted, just like my kids, was to play with my friends. And we did.  All day.  Most of the afternoon. And into the evening. 

I often say that what I need more of than anything is time. And while I usually am referring to time to get more things done, I learned something this week. With the gift of time, there is no better way to use it than to play.  Oh, and I’d forgotten how much fun it can be to go careening down a snowy street on a sled!

Several hot–toddies from last-night not withstanding, I feel rejuvenated today. It’s amazing, really.  After weeks of time off from work and school – with the Holidays and New Year’s right on top of each other – what all of us needed more than ANYthing was a true break.  THIS has proven to be a great way to start the New Year.

So, thanks to my snow day off, here’s “What I Know…Now”:

1. Don’t wait for an Act of God or Nature to remind you to take a break
2. Remember, as you’re scheduling your busy life, make time to play with your friends.  If you can’t remember who they are, that should tell you something!
3. Given a choice, most of us enjoy slowing down and finding beauty in the quiet.
4. Rather than race around from event to event, you can actually choose something different!
5. When you are given the gift of time, don’t waste it on work – that is time you probably are good at filling. 
6. Take the TIME to play.

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This blog also appears as part of my regular column on ShareWiK.com.