It’s the first blog of the month again. I know, November kinda snuck up on me, too. You know the drill. We’re trying to incorporate a little change from my book, Finding Your Inner Moose, into our life each month, hoping it becomes habit. Our aim? Livin’ the good life, of course! We’re on chapter eleven in the book, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Especially as the holiday season gears up, we don’t want to lose track of the main ingredient.
You can’t underestimate the importance of fun: follow-your-bliss fun, take-a-mental-health-day-from-work fun, good, silly fun. Adding more fun to your life will make you happier and healthier, and as a result, voila! You’ll end up lookin’ and feelin’ younger. Maybe you’ve noticed, when you’re having fun, the people around you tend to have more fun, too, which will make your relationships with family, friends, and co-workers that much better. Fun is the secret sauce that makes it all work: re-energizin’ and re-chargin’ your inner spirit.
Of course, fun is different things to different people. You just need to find what works for you. Here in Mahoosuc Mills, fun is going with your husband to get a moose lottery ticket, which qualifies as a date night; taking bets on whether this will be the year Whitey Hebert chucks those moldy blue tarps he uses to cover his permanent yard sale (probably won’t, but hope springs eternal); and right now, anticipation is buildin’ for Bud’s famous Baked Bean Breakfast Buffet served down at the Busy Bee. Thanksgiving to New Year’s, you can count on his holiday beans being (ahem) the gift that keeps on giving.
Here’s a few tips from Finding Your Inner Moose for putting more fun into your life:
• Check out the adult education brochure in your town and sign up for a class, maybe something you never thought about taking before. Some courses are just one night, so it may not be that big of a time commitment. Maybe someone’s teachin’ something fun for the holidays, fancy napkin foldin’ or making yummy appetizers.
• Keep a “fun” notebook. Whenever you find yourself thinking, “Gee, wouldn’t it be fun to do whatever?” Write it down!
• Say to yourself, “I’ve always wanted to (fill in the blank).” Write down the first thing that comes into your mind. I don’t care how silly it sounds. Write down another thing, and another. Keep doing this until you can’t think of anything else. Do it on and off for several days. You’ll be amazed how many things you come up with. Then, try doin’ one or more of those things.
• Write down three things you loved doing as a kid. Now think about how you can incorporate one into your life today (you know, without gettin’ hurt). For example, we had a tire swing tied with a rope to the big oak tree in our front yard, and I used to love swingin’ on it. That got me to thinking about swinging with my grandmother in one of those bench swings out on her porch, something I hadn’t thought about for years. And that led me to getting a bench swing and putting it on our deck, where I just keep on swinging!
• Ask your spouse what they truly enjoy doing for fun, and see if there isn’t a way for you to join in (if it’s not too stupid).
• Find yourself a theme song. Play it in the car. Sing it in the shower. Put it on when you’re alone in the house, vacuuming or dust bustin’, and dance yourself silly.
Me? I think I’m gonna look for some sort of centerpiece craft project the Women Who Run With the Moose can do for Thanksgiving. That sounds like fun, especially if some sort of pumpkin bread, pumpkin cupcakes and/or pumpkin martinis are involved. Nothin’ says festive fun like a holiday-themed cocktail!
That’s it for now. Catch you on the flip side!
IDA’S PODCAST: Fun’s the Main Ingredient
Comin’ Up This Week
November 6: Keynote, The Moose in Me, The Moose in You!, 7th Annual Statewide Caregivers Conference, 9:15am, Concord, NH
Performances and Book Events: Fall
November 16: The Best of Ida, Ogunquit Performing Arts, 7:00pm, Ogunquit, ME
November 30: Book Signing with Rebecca Rule, Kittery Trading Post, 11am-2pm, Kittery, ME
December 16: A Visit With Ida, Huntington Commons, 2:00pm, Kennebunk, ME
For details, please check out the schedule page on my website: http://www.idaswebsite.com/schedule