Tag Archives: play
Come as children
O men, grown sick with toil and care, Leave for awhile the crowded mart; O women, sinking with despair, Weary of limb and faint of heart, Forget your years to-day and come As children back to childhood’s house. — Phoebe Cary Today I invite you to set aside a few moments for remembering what it …
The best baby-sitters
“The best baby-sitters, of course, are the baby’s grandparents. You feel completely comfortable entrusting your baby to them for long periods, which is why most grandparents flee to Florida.” ― Dave Barry OK, you can blame this post on Jeff. I preempted the post I had originally scheduled for this date, because Jeff told me …
An echo from the past
Nothing is Lost by Noel Coward Deep in our sub-conscious, we are told Lie all our memories, lie all the notes Of all the music we have ever heard And all the phrases those we loved have spoken, Sorrows and losses time has since consoled, Family jokes, out-moded anecdotes Each sentimental souvenir and token Everything …
Role models
“Dogs are my favorite role models. I want to work like a dog, doing what I was born to do with joy and purpose. I want to play like a dog, with total, jolly abandon. I want to love like a dog, with unabashed devotion and complete lack of concern about what people do for …
You learn to pay attention
“When you are where wild bears live, you learn to pay attention to the rhythm of the land and yourself. Bears not only make the habitat rich, they enrich us just by being.”― Linda Jo Hunter If I lived where my brother lives, I would certainly pay a lot of attention when I ventured out …
The ordinary things
“If I seem to write to write most happily about the ordinary things that boys do who live in the country it is because this is the part of my childhood that I look back upon with the greatest affection.” — Christopher Milne Look closely at the name of the person who wrote today’s quote. …
What is left
“A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.” — Edward de Bono I’ve written very little here about my younger brother Al. I guess there are a lot of reasons why. As he is my only younger sibling, I’ve always felt a stronger need to protect him, however illogical …
In the yard
“My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, ‘You’re tearing up the grass.’ ‘We’re not raising grass,’ Dad would reply. ‘We’re raising boys.’” — Harmon Killebrew This is a perfect time of year for this quote. The All-Star break is coming up, and many lawns …
The task of the educator
“The first idea that the child must acquire, in order to be actively disciplined, is that of the difference between good and evil; and the task of the educator lies in seeing that the child does not confuse good with immobility and evil with activity…”— Maria Montessouri Any adult who interacts with a young child …
Near the water’s edge
“Children instinctively choose to build near the water’s edge knowing that the water to sand ratio is vital, and I believe that they also know that at the end of the exercise their hard work will be reclaimed by the incoming tide. Even very young children know that they cannot take their creation home – …
Hard to plan
“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” — E. B. White I am writing this post in advance as usual, but I have a better-than-average idea what we will be doing on the day …
Intelligence having fun
“Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun.” — George Scialabba Have you ever heard of rock balancing? Neither had I until I saw this guy. One beautiful sunny day in San Francisco, he was practicing his hobby for all passers-by to enjoy free of charge (though some were leaving him tips). I don’t know who …
The seriousness of a child
“Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.” — Heraclitus There’s a lot of talk about how childhood is magical and carefree, and I agree that it was (or is) a wondrous time for many of us. Yet even with the most advantageous childhood, I think the first …
Made for kids
“Baseball was made for kids, and grown-ups only screw it up.” — Bob Lemon Those of us who admire the complexity of baseball — or maybe only imagine that we do — might think Lemon has oversimplified things with this statement. But he has far more authority on the subject than I do, and in …
Consider having fun
“If you only do what’s important, you’ll never have any fun, unless you consider having fun important.” — Ashleigh Brilliant If you don’t consider having fun important, I hope you’ll think about it and change your mind! Recently we had a discussion in the comments here, about end-of-life wishes, and things people wish they had …
Share to the full
“Let the children have their night of fun and laughter. Let the gifts of Father Christmas delight their play. Let us grown-ups share to the full in their unstinted pleasures before we turn again to the stern task and the formidable years that lie before us…” — Winston Churchill, in his Christmas Eve message of …
A combination
“Home is a combination of human will and divine grace.” — Alexandra Stoddard Whether we live alone or with family, whether we open our doors to traveling friends and adopted animals, or prefer a more solitary life, it takes substantial effort to create and maintain a home. Despite what we sometimes refer to as modern conveniences, the …
Do not cease to play
“We do not cease to play because we grow old, we grow old because we cease to play.” — George Bernard Shaw Everybody who needs more fun time, raise your hands. OK, that’s settled…we need to make more time for play! Of course, when I say “play” I’m not talking about watching TV, or even playing “Angry …
Carry your childhood with you
“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.” — Tom Stoppard Here it is: photographic evidence that a lot of things about me haven’t changed in nearly half a century. I still love cats. I still love yellow. I still wear my hair in a bun often (no wisecracks about librarians here). And the camera, well, …
New possibilities
“Play energizes us and enlivens us. It eases our burdens. It renews our natural sense of optimism and opens us up to new possibilities.” — Stuart Brown, MD If you have a favorite hobby, sport or other recreational activity, why not schedule some time for play this week? On the other hand, if you don’t …
A happy talent
“It is a happy talent to know how to play.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Sometimes we confuse recreational activities with play, but the two are not always linked. It’s possible to turn recreation– especially organized and scheduled pursuits– into just another task on our to-do list. It’s also possible to play while engaged in duties that most people …
God’s medicine
“Mirth is God’s medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it.” — Henry Ward Beecher As Norman Cousins famously demonstrated, laughter really is the best medicine. It can break through the gloom and lift the heart more quickly than any other remedy. Years ago while we lived in Ohio, we were coping with the worrisome heart defects …
Come as children
O men, grown sick with toil and care, Leave for awhile the crowded mart; O women, sinking with despair, Weary of limb and faint of heart, Forget your years to-day and come As children back to childhood’s house. — Phoebe Cary Today I invite you to set aside a few moments for remembering what it …
Defeat Despair 