Do you remember the fun you had jumping in puddles as a child?
Did you stop jumping in puddles when you reached a certain age?
For children, fun is a part of life. Play is an everyday activity. It’s how they explore the world around them and grow.
But as time passes, the opportunities to play change and, in many cases, become far too frequent as we age.
When my son was a child, fun was often found on a beach close to home. We spent hours building sandcastles, stomping them to the ground, rebuilding them again, and laughing through it all. We collected shells along the shore and rode waves in the warm waters off the coast of southern New England. The beautiful sounds of laughter surrounded us each day every summer.
Fun during my childhood decades before included much of the same. I learned to swim in the ocean and did my best to surf alongside my older brother and cousins. I was fortunate that my summer playground included a beautiful beach. My family rented a summer house each summer for years, allowing me the chance to fall asleep to the sounds of waves crashing against the rocks. The sights, sounds, and memories during those years remain a source of relaxation, joy, and contentment.
Fast-forward to young adulthood and beyond. The pressures of school, finding a job, and figuring out what came next left fun sitting on the sidelines more than it should have.
But when my son was born in my late 30s, I was more than ready to have fun again.
Do you remember the last time you had fun?
I mean actual, pure fun—the laugh-out-loud kind of fun that’s common for children every day.
Catherine Price, a health and science journalist and author of “The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again,” asked thousands of people across the world:
What comes to mind when you think about the most fun moments of your life?
What she found were stories of joyful and treasured memories. Her TED talk on fun was the second most viewed in 2022. It turns out we all need more fun in our lives. I came across Catherine’s work while researching the idea of fun and how it changes over time.
Price also writes a Substack about How to Feel Alive and leads workshops and retreats about fun, creativity, productivity, and screen/life balance. Her goal is to help people scroll less, live more, and have more fun.
I didn’t know of Catherine’s work when I needed it most, but reading her book reaffirmed the importance of fun in our lives.
Why Fun?
Price makes the case that True Fun—which she defines as a combination of playfulness, connection, and flow—gives us the fulfillment we desperately seek. She suggests if we use true fun as a compass, we’ll have more energy, find community and a sense of purpose.
I started thinking about fun last year because it had been missing from my life for too long. Sure, I’d had happy, joyful times during every phase of my life, but fun did not come to mind when I looked back on the recent past. Fun had been replaced by illness, uncertainty, and loss-valid reasons for sure, but I knew that the journey of healing included finding ways to enjoy life amidst the challenging times. I needed to have fun, laugh, and commit to living more fully.
Do you think about having fun? Do you look for opportunities to experience moments that will change you?
After a fun-filled childhood, I can’t say I thought about fun too often. I certainly had fun traveling through Italy with my friend or vacationing with family in Maine each summer, but fun wasn’t something I actively sought.
Then, when I became ill, the fun came to a screeching halt. It was replaced by sheer existence. One day turned into the next and the next. Fun was not an option. I stopped thinking about it or hoping it would return.
And like many things in life, they stop becoming a priority when you stop focusing on them. I forgot that having fun and experiencing joy was part of living regardless of the circumstances.
But learning to live fully and enjoy simple pleasures took years to master. It included a process of self-discovery and building resilience by developing what I call my adversity toolkit. But it wasn’t until recently that I realized fun had not been a tool I included, and I needed to change that.
During the last three decades, fun was something I remembered but not a part of every day. After the birth of my son, I knew I had to change how I thought about fun and its importance for both of us. Fun played a key role in my early development, and I wanted to ensure he had the same opportunity.
So, despite the challenges of my illness, I purposefully embraced every opportunity to enjoy life and experience fun again - this time through the eyes of my child.
If you don’t have children, fun may have looked very different for you. Travel, pets, and other hobbies may fill your days and bring you joy in numerous ways.
Regardless of the activity, having fun is good for your health. And fun is often associated with play.
Why Play?
“The drive to play is as fundamental as our drives for food and sleep.”
-Dr. Stuart Brown
According to the National Institute for Play, founded by Stuart Brown, MD, play isn’t just for kids.
Play is a state of mind when you’re absorbed in an activity you enjoy.
Brown founded the non-profit organization to understand and study play and its various forms. He believed play was a long-ignored biological capability that leads to healthier, happier lives.
His theories proved correct. Thirty years after its founding, the science of play is clear:
Play is critical for children and improves the well-being of adults.
Today, a diverse body of play research has also shown that play is central to leading healthy, productive lives. No matter your age, play is as important to your mental health as food is to your physical health.
Adults who play experience less stress and more optimism.
Children allowed to play are faster learners, more creative, and more socially competent.
“Play that is based on our inner needs and desires is the only path to finding lasting satisfaction in our relationships and professional work.”
-Stuart Brown, M.D.
Play More, Have Fun
Brown and Price agree that play and fun are central to a healthy, happy life, regardless of age.
But what does play look like, and how do you have fun throughout your life?
It’s important to understand that play and fun do not require vacations to exotic locations or a break from everyday life.
Understanding this was what made the early years of my son’s life so enjoyable, even though I was a newly single parent with limitations due to my health.
Regardless, I laughed and had more fun during those years than when I was well. The memories I typically refer to when asked about having fun are the many simple times spent enjoying life in New England with my son. What constituted fun usually depended on the weather, a fact New Englanders can understand well.
For instance:
Winter fun was all about snow: making snow angels, building elaborate snow forts, and endless snowball fights. Our dog enjoyed the snow just as much as we did, from ‘plowing’ (head down full speed ahead) to jumping into snowdrifts. We all would return inside exhausted and cold but happy and content.
As the weather warmed, the rain came, and with it, springtime fun: splashing through puddles, muddy feet, and paws, flowers pushing through the ground, glorious cherry blossoms turning the air into a beautiful perfume, and the sounds of baseball bats cracking against the ball.
Spring soon turned into the most treasured time of year - summer! Fun was sandcastles, swimming, surfing, searching for seashells, family cookouts, fireworks, vacations to Maine, Red Sox baseball, and long, hot, sunny days you wished never ended.
If we were lucky, the summer was extended, and we enjoyed a few beach days in September before the air turned crisp and the trees turned into a rainbow of colors. From toes in the sand to sneakers crunching through piles of leaves, Fall brought birthday parties and holiday preparations. Trick or treating led to Thanksgiving and our annual trek to tag a Christmas tree at the local farm.
Life was filled with everyday moments that turned into cherished memories. The more fun we had, the less I worried about my health and the challenges ahead. Each day began with the promise of discovering something new or revisiting a treasured activity.
For a single parent, fun was tiring but so very fulfilling. Not only was I the daily cook and the homework helper, but I also had the pleasure of being the catcher when my son was learning to pitch and the pitcher when he was learning to catch.
We spent hours every evening in our yard with our dog playing. Being an only child to a single parent meant we spent most of our time together. Of course, his grandparents played a huge role throughout his life, but the early years were all about having fun and making our way, just the two of us.
Play was an integral part of our lives, but our play was found in and near our home. You wouldn’t see us at a ski resort or Caribbean beach. Instead, while most families headed to the mountains or Disney each winter, we headed 20 miles south to Newport and enjoyed the quiet before the crowds of tourists descended for the summer. We checked into a hotel on Bellevue Avenue, which was affordable during the off-season, and ate lobsters overlooking the harbor with the locals.
We played. We had fun. We enjoyed life to the fullest.
I was so grateful for those memories when the bottom fell out, and my son became ill the summer after fifth grade. Thankfully, those memories sustained us when the idea of fun became a distant memory. As the years wore on and the memories faded, I looked for new ways to make lemonade from lemons.
When our lives turned to hospitals, doctors, and endless treatments, we played cards and board games, did puzzles that made us dizzy, and watched mindless shows that made us laugh out loud. Our simple times became even more so. Isolated and alone, we found a new type of joy in books, movies, and television shows, old and new. And, of course, our dog was always by our side, ready and willing to offer her much-needed hugs.
Maybe you’re accustomed to having fun regularly. If you are, keep it up!
But if you’ve had many interruptions to life’s carefree, playful moments, remind yourself that it’s possible to find joy in small ways every day. It’s also what makes life worth living.
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Until next week, be mindful and stay safe.
Fun is one of the basic genetic needs we are born with! GROWING GOOD MENTAL HEALTH includes making and having fun every day!
Thanks for writing this terrific post Tracy! I had fun reading it!
Having fun is a form of self care. A giggle or more is always good to elevate your mood, makes the hard days turn the corner into something better. Great reminder Tracy 😊