Recess Girl

Time For A Gratitude Party

We have all kinds of parties. We have parties for special events & sports games. We have parties where we invite our friends, hope they will buy stuff and then we'll get free stuff! We have keg parties and costume parties and tea parties. If you like parties, the reasons to have one are countless. At my senior center we even have parties to celebrate the birthday of our tropical fish. I would like to suggest, on the eve of Thanksgiving, that we consider a Gratitude Party.

Get Out And Play – Even If . . .

It is Scarrry!!! This past weekend, I did something totally fun. It met all of my requirements of recess. It was outdoors, involved physical activity, downhill movement and the company of other women. I took an Introduction to Mountain Biking Course for women only through REI. The minute I learned about this course, I was in. Even though I was totally excited, I was also very nervous. Would I break something? Would I be the oldest person in the class? Would I be able to keep up? Was my bike helmet too old and uncool? Would I get out there and have to use the facilities?

Want Life To Feel Like Recess? Hire A Coach

How Do You Wish You Were Living?

What is recess to you? How would you be living your life if money was no object and you knew you could not fail? How much more fun would you be having? What if you had all the support and resources you needed to dare to start living your dream today? What would that be worth to you?  What will be most important to you at the end of your life? What do you want most that you have not been able to get on your own?

Recess At Any Age

Today I saw one of the most wonderful things. I saw a group of seniors perform three line dances at a luncheon. They were animated, spirited and very good. There were people at my table who were half their age that were envious of the moves they could make, especially when some of them twisted all the way down to the floor. Not only did the younger folks in the crowd doubt they would be able to get down on the floor at that age, some of them doubted they could do it now.

One man in this group stood out among the rest. He was using a cane. His one arm looked slightly paralyzed, like he had had a stroke. So one arm did not look like it was functioning completely and the other was holding his cane for balance and yet he was dancing his heart out. He was making some pretty fancy moves and his feet were definitely coming up off the floor. I'm not talking about slight movement. He was going to town. He was such an inspiration to me.

I work with seniors every day so I'm well aware of their ability to have fun and their ability to out perform many of their younger counterparts, yet even with all of my experience, I can still be delighted by someone who goes above and beyond in the recess department. I didn't get a chance to talk to this man as his group left before the luncheon was over but I will long remember how he danced and his example of rising above his limitations to have fun and bring joy to others.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year All -

This is a time of year where I usually make huge lists of resolutions. One of the things on this year's list is to be more organized and plan more. As I was going through some pages to clear clutter, I found goal lists dating back to 2001! The first thing I noticed was that most of the list consists of items that I've put on there for years. So - this year, I just have some intentions and no long lists. If I just get in the habit of planning I would be way ahead instead of always catching up. So - how do you do this? I'm going to try big rewards, I mean big. I'm going to think of a big recess present I want and I'm going to pay myself to clean up my act and plan and then I can spend that money on a stereo or something I really don't need but want. Once I clear away some of the clutter, I believe it will be easier to work on the other things that have been on the lists for years. I also know I need to give myself a break this year. My partner's mother has a terminal illness and lives 500 miles away. I miss her greatly and I have to handle the house and pets on my own for at least half of the month with a very unpredictable year in store. Again - I'm reminded that practicing extreme self care means that I don't expect myself to come up with great goals and plans for the year.

So enough ramblings for now. The main thing is to write in this blog more and give you some great recess tips for the new year. I promise they will be coming. So Happy New Year and may you take it easy and have lots more fun in 2007!

Gratitude

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. I love to go out early on Thanksgiving morning when the world has turned quite stark in my part of the country. In Maryland, most of the leaves are off of the trees. The weather has chilled and there is a grayness all around. Yet, even as things are winding down for the year, I find a certain kind of beauty in all of that grayness, just like some people do in black and white photography.

Thank You Alex Morgan

On November 2nd, we lost our beloved cat, Alex Morgan to chronic renal failure. She was one special cat and we are extremely grateful for the 12 + years we had her. As I face loss, I often want it to go away. I want to get back on that playground and run around with reckless abandon. Lately I've been learning if we don't give in to our sad feelings, it actually takes us longer to get back to that fun place. So we took a much deserved weekend away this week and it wasn't quite as fun as it could have been and that is ok. It is to be expected. So I'll be back to recess real soon and I'll have lots of information on play. The more I think about this recess girl stuff, the more I find things about play popping up all over the place.

You Don't Always Feel Like Recess

Do you always feel like recess? Of course not. You can see from the time between posts that I've not been blogging. I've had my hands full and there have been times when I felt like the kid who is out on the playground but just sitting in a corner watching all of the other kids play. It started with four wonderful kittens I was fostering. The absolute joy of this experience was cut short five days later when it was discovered they all had feline distemper and had to be put down. They had stolen my heart in the few days I had them and so I cried for almost as many days after as they had been with me. Then my own 12 year old cat got quite sick. (We eventually learned one had nothing to do with the other) Our cat has had chronic renal failure. We thought we would be putting her down on October 10 but she is still with us after much money and much medicine. I'm very hopeful on Day 7 of the Save The Kitty Project.

On top of all of this, my beloved partner is 500 miles away most of the time caring for sick parents. So what's a recess girl to do?

Play - that's right - even when it's the last thing we want to do. We must practice extreme self care and that includes doing things that are fun. Whether we are caring for sick animals or parents, spouses or children, we must take care of ourselves first. This is very hard for us. Just ask any caregiver. It is however essential.

Vacation is Recess

I just got back from Maine. Maine is a Recess Girl's dream, especially if your idea of recess is outdoor recreation. I've never seen so many kayaks, hiking boots or bicycles in my life! It was great. In addition there was tons of ice cream, shopping, water, birds and rocks, a Recess Girl favorite! One of my favorite activities was going out on a tour boat to see Puffins. I love rocks and water and there is plenty of that along the coast of Maine. We met many artists who were more than happy to talk about their work. I love that too! It is so much cooler to buy something from the actual creator.

One of the greatest things about vacation is it always gets me to regroup and get back to spending time doing things I love during a normal day. So for example, there is a great park with a lake 7 minutes from my house. You can do some mild moutain biking, jog, walk or play with your dog. I've not been to that park most of the summer. I have been there twice in the last four days since vacation. It is a great reminder to me that we can build mini vacations into our daily routine. It sure beats going to the gym and walking on a treadmill and my dog Chapin totally loves the experience.

So take vacations and when you are home, create some small vacations for yourself - walk somewhere cool, visit some water, take a bath, eat outside or anything to make your day feel a bit more special!

You gotta love a big ole lobster, and hey, what's better than rocks, mountains and the ocean all in one place!

Why Recess Girl?

So you may be wondering, who is Recess Girl and why is she here? Well, Recess Girl believes there needs to be more fun, play and creativity in the world. I've always known this on some level. Recess was my favorite part of school. It was something I did well!! During recess, I could be as creative, active or loud as I wanted to be. Nobody told me to "apply myself" or "stop daydreaming" or "pay attention" during recess. I was free to be me. As you can imagine I didn't do nearly as well inside the classroom or any other place where I was required to sit still, be quiet and pay attention.

For years this caused me to believe there was something wrong with me. I thought my endless playful spirit was somehow a deficit in life. I've now come to realize it is one of the best parts of me. So I'm here to claim it, share it and encourage others to express themselves creatively and playfully. Our world is very full of dark and scary things and we are all too serious. So lighten up, grow up and play and come back for more fun!!