Don’t you hate when people ask if you have any hobbies or what do you like to do? Some people have easy one word answers. My cousins love to ski. I have friends that paint. Growing up, my parents were boaters. What about me? My stuff is hard to put in a word or two. I like to cook and have people over and sit and talk for hours. I like to attempt to pair food and wine, it is kind of like a drug interaction. You don’t always get what you expect. And this one is harder to explain, I like acting stupid. I am the one at the party with the lampshade on their head. Can that be a hobby?
My inner child is not very in. I like to play. There. I said it. For the world to see.
I color. I play practical jokes, I sing “You are the wind beneath my wings” really loud and off key when someone helps me at work. I shoot straw wrappers before meals. And I pretend stuff. If I am bored cooking dinner, I pretend I have my own cooking show. And yes, I do it out loud. I make jokes on my show and even have special guests. Cher has been on my show many times . Jolene yells from the other room, Who are you talking to? I yell back, I’m doing my cooking show. She says Oh, OK.
If I am bored working on the computer at work, I pretend I am Veronica from the Archies or Susan Dey from the Partridge Family. The keyboard becomes, well, my keyboard and I try to type in time with the music. I even do the foot pedal thing on my pretend organ.
I once did a puppet show with brown paper bags at work. We had one of those Mr Ed half doors in the pharmacy. The theme was Name that Disease. The condition of the day was C.Diff. I was crouching down in the hallway and acting out the symptoms of C.Diff for my coworkers. You know, like making pooping noises and the other puppet saying “Wow! That smells really bad!” Unfortunately it didn’t end well when some Trauma doctors walked up behind me.
Why am I telling you all this? Because sometimes it is so easy to forget how much fun life is. I know it can be hard. We have no control over the tough cards we are dealt. Been there. But we have total control over our fun. Your inner child wants to come out and play. Don’t be afraid to act stupid. Forget your pride. Stupid is much more fun. It’s been a tough year. I want my stupid back.
People have all these physical, healthy, competitive hobbies. What about just having fun? Pretending. Laughing. When is the last time someone pushed you high on a swing? Trust me, it’s as much fun as you remember. Remember flying a kite? How cool was that? Water pistols. Cap guns. Need I say more? If necessary, buy them for some kid too so it looks like you are doing it for them. Put these on your to do list this summer. Let your inner child run wild. That’s my plan for summer.
Laughing my Way Through Rheumatoid Disease and Life 