I think a lot. Over-thinking has always been my superpower and also my weakness, and I don’t usually know that I’ve maxxed out my brain until something alarming happens.
Like last Wednesday, when I forgot to send my kids to school with lunches, and I left my phone in three public bathrooms in one day.
That was my cue.
I just put work aside for the weekend and spent 2 days playing outside at a lake with my family. And I’m starting to feel like myself again. Yesterday, I noticed crawfish crawling on beach stones and tree frogs wisely camouflaged to look like fallen oak leaves and kids trying to skip rocks for the first time. And I was filled with hope and focus. Sometimes you just need to be present to feel good again.
Reader, when is the last time you’ve made time to play a game? Or an instrument? Or played with a dog or a kid or even a game of solitaire? Because I swear: playtime—though it seems trivial—is therapeutic and necessary, especially in the hardest of times. I’d been working so hard on upcoming gigs and songwriting and my restaurant’s winter market that I’d lost track of fun. This seems to be a cyclical issue for me, and here I am once again to remind you: light-heartedness is vital.
Let’s get out there and do some healthy playing this week and watch it improve the quality of our lives. I’ll see you next Monday. -Em
