Playdates

I recently discovered a source of pleasure that I thought I had long left behind in my childhood. Playdates! When I was young I played some of the usual childhood games, like monopoly, punchball, cards, and many other activities I did with other children. But when I became an adult with a family and a full-time job, there was little time for play. When my children were young we had a ping pong table and a pool table at home, and sometimes I played with my family, but most often these games were used by my children. I often helped them arrange their many playdates. 

Now as an older adult, I am rediscovering playdates—for myself.  While I was working, I had little time for sports or for games.  And even after retiring, games initially seemed frivolous. There were books to read, people to visit, and museums to explore. It has taken a while, but I am realizing that while I can do all those activities, there is still an important place for playdates in my life. I have rediscovered fun things I enjoyed when I was younger, and look forward to discovering new ones. I am playing scrabble again, at a weekly scrabble club and periodically at tournaments. What fun! In the past few months, a friend and I went to places with pool tables, and to a ping pong hall, and I laughed more doing those activities than I have at anything I have done in years. I think that playing something I was NOT good at was part of the entertainment.

In my career as a research scientist, my focus was often on  accomplishments like competing for limited grant funds. I have found that it is wonderful to be fully engaged in competitive games where winning is not my primary goal. I have tried a few of the newly popular games, like pickleball, and I realize that the more athletic games may not be the ones I will pursue. But just exploring them brings me pleasure. I look forward to more playdates, and playmates, where I can play old games and learn new ones. In addition to the game itself, the socialization involved with others who are also there to have fun, is known to be good for overall health. A friend and I are planning a playdate to go through the closet full of board games that I have kept since my children were young; I look forward to the pleasures I know they will hold.