Playfulness - the spice of life

          I think that playfulness is the spice of life.  When I was a child, I was accused of not having a sense of humor.  It was true that I didn't laugh at racist or misogynistic jokes.  I didn’t laugh at other people’s expense and didn’t laugh when the mean-spirited jokes were aimed at me.  I spent much of my life believing that misconception about myself.  I was just too serious.  However, I started noticing that people often laughed around me.  At first, I thought they were laughing at me.  Then it suddenly dawned on me … I was making them laugh because I was funny.  I have a very dry humor filled with sarcasm that is often misunderstood or just overlooked, but those who get it are very entertained by me.  Who would have thought?  Even my young grandson now asks, "Nana, are you being sarcastic?"  The answer is usually, "Yes!"
        Besides humor though, I am playful.  I don’t tend to get upset by much and often look for the fun in a terrible situation.  For example, one time when my younger son was around 9 or 10, we were sitting in the kitchen having dinner when I realized that everyone was just kind of pushing the frozen corn around on their plates, trying to avoid it.  I tasted a bite, and it was horrible.  The vibe in the room was very depressing, and I realized I needed something to change it.  I took a forkful of corn and flung it across the table at my son.  He was only frozen in shock for a moment before he got an amazing twinkle in his eye and flung corn back at me.  Soon, my partner at the time started flinging corn, too.  The dismal dinner soon erupted into a full out food fight, and peals of laughter filled the room.  It wasn’t hard to clean up, and everyone gladly helped.  My son, now in his late 20s, still fondly remembers the evening his mom started a food fight.
          I must admit, sometimes my playfulness backfires, like the time I threw a snowball at a new boyfriend and found myself buried in a huge snowbank, barely able to get out.  That was a precursor to an abusive relationship that I foolishly rationalized away at the time.  Also, because of my dry humor, people often take me seriously when I’m joking.  Oh well, I wouldn’t give up my playfulness for anything.  I think it’s a large part of what keeps me young.  I think we all need to lighten up.  Life can be hard, but our attitude determines how harmful it is.
         My current partner tells me I'm spontaneous.  I used to think that was a nice way of saying that I’m a bit of a flake.  He insists that I lose track of things because I’m living in the moment, likely to go off on a tangent at any time.  He's right.  I've always had an adventurous spirit.  It’s true that there are times when I’m on my way home from work and spontaneously take a detour, arriving home much later than expected, usually with a great story to tell.  Being willing to go adventuring on a whim is a large part of my playfulness.  I’m always willing to try something new.  I usually prefer to take the road less traveled.  I’m open to almost anything.  Life is too short to take everything seriously.  I want to live my life to its fullest, looking back at the end feeling satisfied.  Don’t you?  Meanwhile, anytime you’re looking for a partner for a new adventure, hit me up.  I’ll probably join you.