Renaming the Project: Pandemic, Positive and Purposeful Play …Coping Seniors

It is with great gratitude to my friends that I change the title of the video posts, (A special thank you to Deb and Andrea for their regular feedback). All the questions, reflections and feedback have prompted me to giggle and ask myself, again, “So what is this all about?” As a retiree it is about purposeful playing. Something that I believe we all need to engage in, however, due to demands and stresses of everyday work and home life, we tend to think of play as frivolous and non-productive activity. Yes, Deb, we are having fun as we play during our new chapter of life.

Now that Mark is semi-retired and I have retired from front line teaching, we have newfound time and freedom. Combine this newly acquired space with the confidence of life experiences, we find ourselves reverting back to that childlike sense of wonder, confidence and courage to explore. Funny children have confidence from their point of innocence and openness while as we age, we develop confidence from failures, successes and the confidence of choice. More than ever, we can embrace play through creative projects, physical activity, injection of daily humour, games and taking the time to explore divergent thinking or experiences. This video project has been a creative and fun celebration for both of us AND it will be a CoVid souvenir for us and our kids.

Yet, you ask play MC…. Seriously, play? Yep! PLAY a four-letter word that once we hit our twenties and the following decades, we shelve and displace with work & family responsibilities, fatigue and mindless distractions like social media browsing or television watching. Play appeals to so many of our basic needs (Dr. William Glasser suggests the five basic needs are the foundation for all humans …. relationship, survival, influence, freedom and fun). In playing with others, we foster and build our relationships, we play with our communication skills hence engaging in the influence of others and outcomes, play gives us a sense of freedom from rigidity of routine and encourages us to be creative and fun as Dr. Glasser says is a byproduct of learning. Fun is the byline of play, or we might want to say synonymous. So dear friends embrace the four-letter word…. PLAY!

Retirement offers a layer of simplicity to life, but I have to say CoVid has added to this simplicity, which again has delivered a release of stress and opened up more play time. This week we were able to play outdoors (golf & hiking), bake, belly dance, day trip, sketch and knit. Mark’s humour, one-liners and comic gestures add that much needed laughter, especially on those gray, rainy days. We can get a grip, shake off the news and be like kids reveling in the awestruck wonder, embracing the moment. Yes, we are going full circle to the wisdom and joy of childhood.

Quick Take Away Links:

This Week’s Videos

Renaming the Project: Pandemic, Positive and Purposeful Play …Coping Seniors

It is with great gratitude to my friends that I change the title of the video posts, (A special thank you to Deb and Andrea for their regular feedback). All the questions, reflections and feedback have prompted me to giggle and ask myself, again, “So what is this all about?” As a retiree it is about purposeful playing. Something that I believe we all need to engage in, however, due to demands and stresses of everyday work and home life, we tend to think of play as frivolous and non-productive activity. Yes, Deb, we are having fun as we play during our new chapter of life.

Now that Mark is semi-retired and I have retired from front line teaching, we have newfound time and freedom. Combine this newly acquired space with the confidence of life experiences, we find ourselves reverting back to that childlike sense of wonder, confidence and courage to explore. Funny children have confidence from their point of innocence and openness while as we age, we develop confidence from failures, successes and the confidence of choice. More than ever, we can embrace play through creative projects, physical activity, injection of daily humour, games and taking the time to explore divergent thinking or experiences. This video project has been a creative and fun celebration for both of us AND it will be a CoVid souvenir for us and our kids.

Yet, you ask play MC…. Seriously, play? Yep! PLAY a four-letter word that once we hit our twenties and the following decades, we shelve and displace with work & family responsibilities, fatigue and mindless distractions like social media browsing or television watching. Play appeals to so many of our basic needs (Dr. William Glasser suggests the five basic needs are the foundation for all humans …. relationship, survival, influence, freedom and fun). In playing with others, we foster and build our relationships, we play with our communication skills hence engaging in the influence of others and outcomes, play gives us a sense of freedom from rigidity of routine and encourages us to be creative and fun as Dr. Glasser says is a byproduct of learning. Fun is the byline of play, or we might want to say synonymous. So dear friends embrace the four-letter word…. PLAY!

Retirement offers a layer of simplicity to life, but I have to say CoVid has added to this simplicity, which again has delivered a release of stress and opened up more play time. This week we were able to play outdoors (golf & hiking), bake, belly dance, day trip, sketch and knit. Mark’s humour, one-liners and comic gestures add that much needed laughter, especially on those gray, rainy days. We can get a grip, shake off the news and be like kids reveling in the awestruck wonder, embracing the moment. Yes, we are going full circle to the wisdom and joy of childhood.

Quick Take Away Links:

This Week’s Videos