Having fun

As it is the start of the new year I have been thinking about having fun. But then what exactly does fun look like? Some people see it as going out and partying and being with groups of friends and family. Others see it as going to the pub and having a good time with others. Fun can also be seen as staying at home and enjoying time together.

New Year’s Eve is a time nearly everyone stays up and has fun in their own way. Fun for me last night was having an early night. Is that really fun? Well, yes, actually it can be if you need sleep and you haven’t had good nights. For me, counting in the new year is not really exciting as all I can think of is going to sleep. However, for my husband it is part of having fun.

When you have children, fun is different to what it was when you were without them. You can have fun playing silly games, making noises at each other or silly faces. It can also be good fun listening to them laugh and play with different toys in the house. Early nights, cuddles on the sofa and watching suitable movies on the tv with your child is also fun. Fun and enjoyment can come from spending time with your child/ren and see what they like to do.

As a mother, fun can also be spending time alone without a child clinging on to her. Or time out with a friend or their husband. It’s nice at times to have a meal that isn’t shared with a child and where you can have adult conversation without interruption.

Children having fun is so much more simple than adults generally. They can often use their imagination and make up games with simple things they just find around the house. Of course there are other things they enjoy doing – different to what adults like to do. Is that a problem? Of course not. Everyone has different tastes and if they can use their imagination with something small – well, that shows they have great imaginative and problem solving powers.

This year, my idea of having fun has changed with all the different sicknesses I have had. Listening to my son enjoying himself and him coming to show me what he has done at home or at the nursery has been good fun. He loves to hear he say how well he has done with different things and it is fun to see his enjoyment with lots of toys and him having conversations with his Daddy.

Fun can be what you make it and you can enjoy things or not. Yes, it’s not the way I had thought I would have fun this year, but you know what? That’s ok. If I need more sleep, well, I need more sleep and will feel better tomorrow having had it. I can find enjoyment listening to Kevin and Johnathan playing together.

How has your idea of fun changed? Is it the same as what you imagined it would be or are things different? If you think back to when you were a child, what did you find fun or enjoyable. Please let me know. It would be interesting to see if other people have not only a different idea of fun and enjoyment but also how it has changed for them.

Going horse riding again

When I was young I loved horses and for quite some time had horse riding lessons. I remember my Aunt Frances getting me a book about horses and reading it from cover to cover. I loved stories with horses in. All I wanted was a horse of my own but I knew it was most likely an impossible dream.

I would ride different horses – Conker was really fast when she wanted to be, Midnight enjoyed kicking if you weren’t careful of him and Star, the Shetland Pony was cute and loveable. I learnt how to walk, trot, do rising trot, canter and was doing small jumps. One day when I was riding Star she tripped and nearly fell while cantering and I managed to hold her up and keep her going and reassure her that everything was OK.
Fast forward to when I was an adult. I didn’t ride often and was trying to find a place I was comfortable going without success. The lady Maddie who took the lessons I had had as a child had moved to work at another riding stables and I never found someone else who could make me feel secure and comfortable on the back of a horse as she had.
Some years ago now Kevin and I were watching Horse and Country channel on TV. A programme was on and mentioned the fact there were riding for the disabled stables all over the country and so we looked to see if there was one near us. There is one in Glasgow and I went to go look at the horses one evening with a friend. At the end of the time there was the opportunity to put my name down for riding lessons. I knew there was a long wait, but I had expected that.
Last week I got a phone call that there was the opportunity for me to go riding and I had to decide if I wanted to or not and I decided that I would. I loved being back on a horse again but my goodness, the muscles it uses! Because I hadn’t been riding for so long, I was being led by a lady called Anne and all I literally had to do was hold on.
Today has been a blessing going back to a childhood love. Horses are special and precious animals and my love and admiration for them was still there.
You know what? You might have a dream of something you wanted to do as a child. Maybe you had the chance to explore it as a child, maybe not. But your dreams and likes and desires can still be fulfilled as an adult. Don’t miss out on the opportunity for happiness and joy. Find a way to fulfil your dream and let it be part of your life, not an empty wish. Yes, it may take you a while to do so – you may even have to wait some years for it to happen, but it CAN. Think of what you wish to do and pursue it.  
I know you are capable of it. Your dreams are worth making a reality if it’s possible. I’m not saying you can be something you aren’t but find what you love and make it a good day by making the first step towards getting it. What can you do today to begin making your dream happen?