PLAY-TITUDE #11: SPONTANEOUS DAY TO PLAY!

My 70^th Post!

PLAY: /plā/ the spontaneous activity of children!
 

Life sometimes spontaneously takes me by surprise.  And if I can play with it—well that is the best kind of play.  Yesterday was that kind of day for me.  

Yesterday was a school day—one of those busy, go from one activity to another without much down time in-between kind of days.  No down time means no think time so I was just going about doing my thing, knowing that until 9:00 that night the pace would be quick and the down time would be zero (I teach a grad class on Monday nights).  I also knew that to grade and prepare for my Thursday night grad class, and to do my commitment toward March blogging, I would be up very late on Tuesday and Wednesday.  No time for play…even though I am writing about it every day.
 

I am accepting of that reality.  I am not happy about the pace right now, but I made choices, all good, that are creating that pace through May.  I am being playful about the pace.  I know that play is an attitude that goes beyond time and busyness.  And I would be fooling myself not to understand that play cannot be sustained with this pace.  It can’t live and be cultivated in a new way when time is not devoted to it. 

Back to my story...I was leaving work and a co-worker said that tomorrow would likely be a snow day.  I listened and laughed about how I would wear my PJ’s inside out and do a little snow dance before I went to bed, but seriously didn’t ponder the possibility.  I live in upstate-NY and we are a rugged bunch when it comes to snow days.  We can get a foot of snow and it is cleaned up in an hour.  So, putting my PJ’s on inside out and doing a little snow dance doesn’t carry a lot of power.

Off I went to my grad class.  The day was actually a 50 degree, balmy Rochester day.  The thought of snow was just a whisper.  I went from one busy, go from one activity to another as I arrived to teach grad students about reading and writing through their practicum experience.  Into the evening a student began to announce the different schools that were closed the next day.  Unexpectedly, spontaneously, my school was announced.  I was giddy with happiness.  I was given an unexpected gift of time.

At class end, I walked out into the 50 degree evening doing a little happy dance.  Who knows what the weather will be tomorrow.  I do know that I have been given some time.  Time to catch up.  Time to play.  Time for spontaneous connection.   As I went to bed that night, in celebration, I put my PJ’s on inside out and followed up my happy dance with a snow dance.  Life is good.  Tonight I sleep.  Tomorrow I play.

Sometimes that’s all that is needed for spontaneity is time.  And time can be planned or sometimes—with the help of weather is a gift.

PLAY-TITUDE #11:  Spontaneity is play’s companion.  Grab it whenever you can!

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for dedicating space and time for writers and teachers of writing to come together to share ideas, practice and life experience.