Playtime

Summer has been my favorite season ever since I can remember. As the youngest child of four, play was a big part of my life. I was labeled a “tomboy” growing up because I preferred outdoor activities that included bicycles, baseball, basketball, dirt bike riding, and swimming to name a few. I was outside with my brother and the neighborhood boys from dawn to dusk and sometimes even later.

My daughter and son also enjoy many memories of summers filled with cousins, swimming, bike riding, the ocean, trampoline jumping, and fishing followed by crashing in the evenings with Disney and Anne of Green Gables movie marathons. Creative play has served them well and I encourage them to weave play into their adult lives. My two grandsons help to remind us that play is important so we make space for it!

In June, work at the farm began to dwindle as the crops expired and the rains set in. A sense of playfulness became more apparent that month as the crew and myself created some memorable moments of play mixed with our work day. There was a day when Farmer Brian decided all of us should have dreadlocks of amaranth. One day I coaxed the team into a game of PVC pipe-rotten eggplant stick ball after cleaning up the hoop house. My co-worker, Mitch, decided to sport a cape and run through the fields announcing it was quitting time! She looked like a dirty, sweaty happy hero!

I agreed to take a break from the farm for the month of July, which was a welcomed idea! The last day in June, Farmer Brian and his family planned a celebration as we looked forward to time off. The festivities included homemade pizza, cake, and libations. We enjoyed dancing well into the night. Gratitude was expressed for our hard work with bouquets of flowers and cards specially made by Farmer Brian’s daughters.

I headed into July with the intention of having a month of playtime, which was primed by our play at the farm. I was able to fit play into my life that first week in July before receiving the news of my mom’s passing. She was 91 years old and passed quietly in her sleep at home. I spent the following week with my family and saw many relatives including nieces and nephews. It was a wonderful sight to see all “the cousins” together pawing through my mom’s photo albums filled with our memories as their children ran through the house and played! Our family is strong and we were there together to celebrate my mom. We hold tightly to our memories and look forward to carrying on for the generations to come…and let us never forget to fit in some play no matter what the season in life.