Do you remember when you were a kid and you’d play hide-and-seek with a few kids in the neighborhood? Or maybe you were the one who got some of the other kids together and put on a play for your neighborhood? Perhaps you pretended you were a rock star and wielded that broom stick the likes of which no 80s hairband had produced thus far.
Wasn’t that fun?
Do you still have that much fun?
I recently read this article about the importance of play, and even though it’s mainly geared toward parents, I realize that those struggling to be parents (who may or may not already have kids) could use some serious play therapy in their lives.
The article says, “we are often caught in the hustle and bustle of the importance of our own lives. In general, our society has become plagued with an unrelenting motion of doing, rarely giving way to kindness or compassion or living life to its fullest.”
You know that “unrelenting motion of doing,” don’t you? “Okay, where’s my fertility calendar? Yeah, only 9 days to go before ovulation. So that means, we have to have intercourse on these dates (yes, it’s that formal) — oh wait! We have a dinner that night! We’re going to have to double up the night before then. Ugh, I’ll be so tired. Oh well…gotta do what we gotta do.”
What happened to the fun, you ask? I think it was thrown in the round file along with all of those OPK (ovulation predictor kit) sticks and used fertility-med needles. Buh-bye Fun! Hello Business of Baby Making!
So, why play? The article suggests, “In an age that we are frequently overworked, underpaid, and stressed; play decreases our anxieties, our negative thinking, while increasing our own imagination.”
I would add, in the infertility world, play helps us to let go of the “have tos” for a moment and do the “get tos.” Remember how excited you were when your homework was done and you got to do whatever you wanted? You got to rest your left-brain analytical side and engage the right-brain creative side of you. Both are needed for appropriate balance. How about hello to Wellness?
Needless to say, the get-‘er-done attitude of baby-making resides mostly in the left brain. And it’s where the infertile person resides 24/7. Though I haven’t researched it (yet), I’m willing to bet that this is even during sleep.
Give it a rest! Go play! The article suggests playing peek-a-boo in the mall with another adult. Um, I’m not going to go that far. Ha!
What will you do to get your play in today?
Be well,
~ Dr. M
