I believe in weekends. Let’s give old fashioned fun times a roll.
—
I believe in weekends. I really do. We need time off from work. We need time to be in a separate space.
That doesn’t mean a mentally stagnant space (although I’m totally supportive of occasional television binge fests. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, yes you’re up).
One of my favorite weekend pastimes happens to be crossword puzzles. And I recognize many people (particularly fellow Millennials) probably just threw up a little at the prospect of spending an afternoon hunched over an inky newspaper, teasing out the answer to “flagon filler” and “Aren’t you the comedian!”
But it really is a wonder, leaving work behind for 24-hours. Here are some fun suggestions for the upcoming fin de semana:
- Start a betting pool with family and/or friends about the coming chaos of both the Democratic and Republican convention. Definitely put your money on the ultimate nomination winners, but don’t stop there. Side bets can be fun, as in: by how many protestors, rounded up or down to the hundred, will Donald Trump be ahead of Ted Cruz? And what about Bernie? Will his crowd outnumber Trump’s? Which now-unknown’s speech will set them up as the “next” Obama? What are the odds the Libertarian party shows up to welcome the many thousands of disaffected Republican delegates on their way out? Etc.
- Depending on whether or not you have kids, or how old they are, bust out the board games. I’m not one to turn down traditional Checkers or the like, but I’ll never forget an entire afternoon once spent with two eight-year-olds I nannied many summers ago. We started one innocent game of Monopoly, and before you knew it, the sun had gone down and we were on round five, with a new set of rules, and everyone manning several different metal tokens. There were definite arguments over who got to be the top hat. Consolation prize? Wheelbarrow. And even the most ardent Bernie fan can find a little piece of gratitude for capitalism. It gave us Monopoly.
- Also, consider Backgammon. My husband once beat me twenty-one times in a row. It was on our honeymoon, which is the only reason our marriage has survived. Although it is an impossibility of physics and common sense, my husband has unbelievable luck with dice rolls. He’s like Larry David from Curb Your Enthusiasm, with an unnatural knack for Bingo. These are not skill-games. And yet, some people persist in always winning them. (Okay, there may be a tiny it of strategy involved in backgammon).
- Parks are fun.
- Picnics are too, though I prefer a car picnic, because I disagree with food-sharing programs involving local bug-life.
- Reading, or as I like to put it on a Friday Funday: Book it up.
- Day trips, which are just excuses for great drives. And I love the environment, and nature, but I also love driving. So I try to save the latter just for weekends, and try and rack up some good-walker points so I don’t feel so bad.
Some people will note that I left a few obvious choices off the list. Bike rides. Cooking. Tailgate parties. I will note that those are perfectly acceptable weekend choices, but that they do not appear here simply because I happen to not care for them.
Whatever it is you choose, however you spend your weekend – or whenever time off finds you – embrace it. Rest is a gift.
—
Photo: Flickr/sling@flickr