Are We Having Fun Yet???

Today I am turning Tune Up Tuesday on its head a little! Instead of giving you some tune up tips today, I am seeking some tips from you dear readers!

Let me provide a bit of background before I launch into my main topic. I am sure that you all are aware of the practice where people pick a word as their theme to focus on for the year – something like balance, joy, or simplicity.

Well, I am not a person who usually engages in this practice. I have tried it a couple of times in the past, but I guess I never felt too strongly about whatever word I chose, because I promptly forgot all about the word not long after I picked it. It's something that I couldn't make stick, and after a while, I just gave up on the idea.

Buuuuut, for some reason, this year felt different. Maybe because we are in the middle of a pandemic??? I don't really know, but some words intuitively came to me back at the end of 2020, and I have been thinking about them ever since.

I don't have just one word. In fact, I guess I have a word combo instead of just one word. And I also have two of these word combos, not just one.

My first word combo is "peaceful relaxation." Why I couldn't just pick "peace" or "relaxation," I don't know. But that's the way it's always been in my mind.

I am actually doing pretty well when it comes to this word combo! Yes, we are still living in turbulent times, but I have been taking a lot of time in 2021 to get quiet and to work on calming and soothing myself.

It's my second word combo that has me stymied! I think about it regularly, but I am basically having zero luck with it. And that combo is "magical fun."

Again, I have no idea why this had to be two words in my mind, but I'm not going to analyze it.

I am now here asking for reader suggestions because I am SO not having magical fun in 2021!

At this point, you might be saying to yourself – well, we're in a pandemic right now, how much fun do you think you're going to have??

But if I'm honest, I feel like I haven't had much fun in quite a while, even pre-pandemic.

I think it's super important to have fun. We feel better in general, and we appreciate ourselves and others more if we are having some fun every now and then!

I'm honestly not even 100% sure about exactly what I mean by "fun." It's defined differently in various dictionaries, but it is often defined as enjoyment or amusement.

I think this may be why I qualified the word "fun" with the adjective "magical." I guess I want to have some fun that is a little bit out of the ordinary. For example, I really enjoying reading books. It's probably my biggest hobby. But would I call reading "fun"??? Not really. It's enjoyable, but not magical (most of the time, anyway)!

I also really like traveling, and in fact, I have fun doing it. But it's not something I can do in non-pandemic times on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis. I'd like to have something fun (or multiple fun things!) that I could do on at least a somewhat regular basis.

Much of my "fun" as an adult has revolved around eating and drinking (going out to dinner, to a bar, out for dessert, etc.) While there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, and I'm sure I will continue to do these things once this pandemic subsides, I would like to broaden my horizons a little!

I suspect that my idea of fun has more to do with playfulness than enjoyment, although I can't be sure. I think it's certainly easier to play when there are children around. But I don't have children, so I need to look elsewhere!

I am not a huge fan of board or card games, but I'm not closed off to them either. So feel free to make a recommendation, especially if you know of a great 2-person game, since it's usually just Tom and me hanging out here!

I think that many people envision a hobby when they think of something fun. But I don't know, it's unlikely that I'm going to take up a new sport, or knitting, or gardening any time soon.

So I am stuck, dear readers, and looking for suggestions. Or comments. Anything at all really. How do you think about fun? What do you do for fun? Maybe fun never even crosses your mind?? Am I crazy for even thinking about having fun right now?? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic!

I guess in the end I'm just looking for a little inspiration and hope, that all isn't lost for me when it comes to fun!