If all goes well, it looks like GirlWonder and her handsome husband have found a house. Lord willing. Obviously, I need a new hobby now. My current hobby of attending open houses and being equal parts amused and appalled at home renovation choices is no longer applicable.
I also feel like I cannot keep making sitting on the couch with my dogs my life’s work. I mean, I love it. I enjoy it, but I also think I’ve reached peak performance in that area.
I’m ready for a hobby that will provide some stability, mindfulness and serenity.
After a certain age, it would be nice if that hobby also helped me stay in shape and somewhat stretched out. I do yoga to this end. By this, I mean I flop down on my yoga mat on the floor every few days and stretch out while listening to wave sounds.
Stretch. Despite this absolutely lackluster dedication to fitness, after a certain age, it just all goes to heck in a handbasket. As a child, I once fell off my bike, slammed my entire body, including both knees and both wrists into the ground and hopped up as if nothing had happened. Now if I fluff my pillow wrong in my sleep, I’m out of whack for 3 to 5 days minimum and physical therapy might be required.
I swear I used to be the person who couldn’t find enough hours in a day to do everything I wanted to do: I was raising a family, scrapbooking, photography and writing. All of these things are related to raising a family. Now I’m just out here cleaning the insides of my vacuum cleaner to feel a sense of accomplishment. This is a problem.
Read. I do think the Internet has broken my brain. I used to be an avid reader. The children and I went to our beloved local library at least once, if not 2 to 3 times a week. We took out bags and baskets of books. I finished reading a book every few days. It was glorious. Now every time I sit down to read a book, I feel like my attention span resembles that of a fruit fly. This is assuming fruit flies have terrible attention spans. I don’t know because I’m apparently not capable of reading up on that. My mind wanders. I lack concentration. I start thinking I should start a load of laundry or more likely check on social media. I arrange my Pinterest boards. I get big home renovation ideas.
It is no secret that I am a homebody, a homemaker, a connoisseur of the home if I may be so bold. Decorating and working on my house is literally my major hobby. But at some point, you’ve fluffed every pillow, stacked every art book and quite frankly are risking spousal alienation if you have one more “big idea.”
Also, with our now grown children purchasing homes, Mr. Wonderful has new priorities. My love of pounding holes in plaster and making epic messes has been bumped way down the list.
I love antique and thrift shopping. On that note, though, it’s such a fine line between collecting and hoarding. I like to say it’s not hoarding if your stuff is cool. But there is a point where even cool stuff can become overwhelming.
So far, I’m making a list of potential hobbies. These include the following:
Tending a garden. I’m considering herbs. Are those easy?
Baking, with the bonus of eating and gifting baked goods.
Learning to crochet or knit. My great grandmother tried, valiantly, but maybe I’m better at it now than when I was 8. Here’s to hoping!
Walking the dogs around our property. We all enjoy that. Well, the rabbits don’t, but the rest of us do.
Becoming a tea connoisseur. Mr. Wonderful drinks tea in the evenings. It seems very refined. I only like two beverages — water, and strong black coffee. I am going to try to find room in my palate for tea. It will have to be herbal tea though. I can’t have caffeine after noon. If I do, I’ll be awake for a week.
Insomnia would not work with my next big idea. I’m considering taking up napping. All I can think about as an adult is all of those times that I didn’t want to take a nap as a kid — all of those missed opportunities. If I really apply myself, I believe I can make up for lost time.
