The family that plays together

I am a great believer in play.  Far from being trivial or unimportant, I think it is vital...and that's how it became part of my academic interest and research. But beyond that it has always been part of my life.

Some of my earliest memories are of play and humor.  I can remember clearly singing in the car,  "Let's all sing like the birdies sing"  and then we would start "singing" like other animals until we came to the giraffe (which really doesn't 'talk' much)  Let's all sing like the gi-raffes sing...and then we would all stretch our necks and make funny faces until it devolved into laughter.  My dad was most often the instigator, and although he was known to most as an upstanding part of the business community, he was also an entertainer with a huge stock of corny jokes. As a kid I became his chief straight man and often encouraged him to tell his jokes,  much to my mother's chagrin. We often played word games in the car too...sometimes laughing until we cried.

As an adult, my play has tended to be more adventurous and athletic, but just as when I was a kid, I love sharing it with my family, whether it is my wife, my mother, my brother's family or my children and grandchildren.

One such adventure was a whitewater raft trip with my mother and my wife on the Colorado River.  My brother had implored me to be sure that mom held on tight...so of course we had to take this hands-in-the-air picture. (Don't worry, we held on in the rapids).

 Mostly these days it is running, duathlon and triathlon, which I share with my wife.  She is much faster than I am...but we make a weekly point of doing at least one workout together, either choosing something not speed related or having her slow to my speed.  Planks to the song "The Final Countdown" is one of our favorites.  It never fails to make us laugh.  Of course, we often sing ridiculous songs (workout and otherwise to each other and our pet rabbit).  Play and sense of humor had much to do with bringing us together...and helping to keep us strong together.

And running in costume adds another layer of play and fun to the mix.  She had to be convinced at first...but she had such fun the first few times that she now introduces costume ideas as often as I do...and has begun to learn some skills to help me make them.

As you know if you read this blog, my daughter was instrumental in starting us running.  My son has done some races too...but prefers his role-playing game weekends with his friends (which is fine...I'm glad he finds time to play). Recently my daughter-in-law has shown some interest  and we have introduced our granddaughters to both running and running in costume. My daughter-in-law, Aurora and oldest granddaughter Maeve are with us in the picture at the top of this blog.

 Here's another with Maeve at a Girls on the Run event  last November.

After 3 GotR events and a Disney 5k Maeve has become a more confident runner

Little sister (our younger granddaughter Ellowyn...known as Ellie) ran her first race dressed as Moana at Disney.  Look at that face...you can see that this is play!

Playing together, whether it is a word game, a costume run, a whitewater adventure, a trip to the playground, or playing a board game (or anything else) has helped to bring my family together and keep us closer.  I think the fact that one of our main activities is one that keeps us fit and healthy just adds to the enjoyment.  

So, if you are reading this, I encourage you to grab a friend or family member and play today!