I remember the afternoon. I was sitting at the kitchen table getting some work done, and Brylee came downstairs with that annoyed look on her face that only she can give. Her dad and brother were ganging up on her in the bounce house and she was coming to tell me all about it.
I usually would give her my typical response, “Brylee, just ignore them or stay out of the bounce house while they’re in it.”
But this time was different…
I honestly don’t know what came over me, because I NEVER do this. But I said to her, “Well let’s go get em’! Boys vs girls, let’s do it!” I think my response even surprised her! She started jumping up and down as we ran upstairs and had a full on girls vs boys war in the bounce house.
No lie. I almost peed my pants because I was laughing so hard as the 4 of us started wrestling and being crazy and careless. This was probably the most fun I had “let” myself have all week long.
There was something so freeing about just letting my walls down, wrestling in a kids bounce house and laughing uncontrollably.
There was something so life giving about allowing myself to just “play” for 15 minutes or so, that day.
And then it dawned on me…
What if I did this more? What if I allowed myself to just pause from adult life, heck, even mom life, for a few minutes for frequently to just play?
I’m not talking about getting on the floor and playing barbies with your kids type of play.
I’m talking about the kind of play that lights you up, that makes you laugh so hard that your insides hurt.
The kind of play that makes your cortisol levels actually go down.
We can miss so many opportunities for play. Yet, play breaks us out of our daily routines. It rejuvenates us. It’s play that so often restores our joy in motherhood.
So much research has shown that play in adults is an important means of reducing stressing.
Lynn Barnett, a researcher and professor at the University of Illinois, did an in depth study on adult play and concluded with this:
“Highly playful adults feel the same stressors as anyone else, but they appear to experience and react to them differently, allowing stressors to roll off more easily than those who are less playful.”
As moms, we can get so caught up our responsibilities every day. Getting the laundry done, cooking the next meal, driving the kids to all of their practices, oh and yes, oftentimes a full time job on top of everything else.
And In the midst of the hustle, we’ve forgotten how to just have fun. How to give up control for just a little bit.
Somewhere in between childhood and adulthood, we’ve stopped playing. It’s almost as if we don’t give ourselves permission to do this. We’ve outgrown this. We have responsibilities that need our attention now.
But what if we let play to be our guide in motherhood?
What if we gave up control for just a little bit of time and gave ourselves permission to have fun. To tap into our inner childhood selves and do something outside the box. Maybe it’s as simple as coloring, jumping on the trampoline, jumping off the dock into the lake.
These small moments of play have the power to change our outlook, to build resilience when life feels heavy, and to teach you how to laugh and have fun again.
I want to ask you this.
What’s stressing you out on the daily? What feels really heavy in this season of life for you?
Think about this for a minute.
And then today, I want you to find a way to give up control for just a few minutes and play! Put your phone away, pause your to-do list, and take 15 minutes to indulge in mindless play and see if you don’t feel rejuvenated by just letting go for a bit. See if it doesn’t refresh you, restore your mind, and give you new energy.
There’s power in play, my friend! So let’s start having more fun.
I’d love to hear in the comments, how you chose to play this week.