I rarely ask myself “what are the things I love to do?” I am far more focused on the things I feel “responsible for”.
Things like:
– doing a good job at my workplace
– taking care of my family or should I say “my household”? (ie: cleaning up, doing laundry, making meals/lunches, getting the kids ready for school, getting groceries, etc.)
Between my workplace (which eats up over 45 hours a week) and all the things I feel “responsible for” in my household, I don’t perceive myself to having a lot of extra time after that. I do have extra time, but I’ll spend it going on the internet – reading blogs/emails/news, or spending a little time to myself on the weekend – reading in the tub.
Are these the things I really “love” to do? Some of them – like reading in the tub. But there are a lot of things I love to do that I just don’t do because I feel that would be “irresponsible” – it would take away from my perceived “responsibilities”.
(let me interject here with a disclaimer – my husband does his fair share of the “house-work”; what I’m talking about it completely self-inflicted. My husband does not expect me to take on all these perceived responsibilities and he graciously tries to affirm me to actually do the things I love – what a wonderful man!)
So what are the things I love to do?
– Taking pictures – I recently purchased a DSLR camera, got a beginner’s book on photography and even took a beginner’s photography workshop – however, I haven’t really spend a lot of time “taking pictures”
– Playing piano – this one is a little tricky because if my daughter is awake and I start to play the piano, she suddenly wants to play, too. That being said, I haven’t been very deliberate about taking time to play just for the fun of it
– Reading a good (ie: fiction) book – I’m not necessarily doing this myself but I am reading some of my favourite childhood books to my son and having a great time at it. The really fun part is getting to the end of a chapter with a “cliff-hanger” ending – my son is writhing in agony to know what happens next and I won’t tell him even though I know exactly what happens next. It’s like reliving the experience of reading the book for the first time again.
– Acting – a couple of years ago I had the opportunity to act in a Gateway play in Saskatoon. I absolutely loved it! I had acted throughout school and college (when I was in high school there was a time I wanted to be a professional actress). I’m glad I was able to act in the Gateway play and my family really encouraged me to do it. I haven’t auditioned for anything else since then. Maybe I should to some more auditioning…
– Coloring – this may seem silly but I really enjoy coloring. My daughter loves to draw and color but I don’t do much coloring with her.
– Dancing – I love dance. I never had an opportunity to take dance classes when I was growing up. I entered my daughter into ballet classes last year and this year I signed myself up for an Adult Ballet class and I’m enjoying it.
I saw a couple of friends I grew up with play in their band this weekend – it looks like they loved playing together. I’ve been thinking about that. It’s important to do the things you love to do. “There is a time to work and a time to play”.
Thanks to the encouragement of my husband I am starting to do some of the things I love to do. I just need to get past the burden of “perceived responsibility” in order to enjoy this life God has given me even more.