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The List
October 21, 2009 *
HOW TO
PLAY
and
STILL DO
your
WORK
(some ideas)
*
1. Write to do lists that are fun to look at (doodles
and colours) AND include fun things on them.
for example:
*buy milk
*fold laundry
*GO jump in a puddle
*wash more laundry (including your puddle-
jumping clothes)
2. PLease remember to turn on some music
because it changes the electro-magnetic currents in your
twiddly thorax swampbuster,
making you more apt to have a good time.
Switch on your senses.
PLay with the bubbles that the dishsoap makes and notice
how the water feels, splashing over your wrists.
smell everything.
(at least, smell the *clean* things)
When you fold clothes, group them by colour,
or test yourself to see how neatly you can put the edges together.
*then sit back and admire your work*
4. invite the Little Helpers along.
*sometimes they slow things down, but they make everything
more fun. (and you are teaching them, and one day you will blink
and they will actually be helping.)
show them how to make dirty things shiny.
get them to use the rolling pin, the broom, the
vacuum cleaner,
the vegetable peeler,
even the KNIVES
(with supervision)
5. Name your appliances. Name your pots and pans.
Use their names when you're talking about them.
6. Put signs everywhere that say important things like:
*open me for birdsong*
on the window.
7. Fresh flowers whenever possible.
Origami ones when not.
(origami is a very orderly way of having fun, good for the
anxious times, like knitting. maybe you can knit yourself
some flowers.)
8. imagine that you are the Only Living Daughter of the
last king of the tribe of Vindakoo and that your survival depends on
your task.
only if you finish washing the dishes in the Gigantic Sink
can the key to the labyrinth drop into your hands. once you
mop the floors, you will be able to come through the labyrinth
and get to your tribe.
(and save them!)
(hey, I said play. I'm not ashamed!)
9. be a World Famous Documentarian.
(documenting yourself)
you can do it *crocodile hunter style*, like sheryl suggested,
narrating your way through the wild things all around you
(this especially works if you are wrestling young boys)
or *rivers and tides style*,
where everything you do is a temporary work of art and
there is a hushed silence as you
Chop Tomatoes.
10. On that note, make sculptures!
Use the lego, the couch cushions, cucumber slices,
potato peelings.
They will be temporary, but they will probably entertain your family.
11. Play with food because kitchen time can be too serious.
Make faces from vegetables, make cities, draw your childrens' names
and create animals.
then eat them.
Have fun!
Give thanks.
*
the end
(any other suggestions?)
*
Reader Comments (21)
Love your list, my dear!!! Thanks for the inspiration!
Mary
You were made with an amazing imagination, and are a fun person. Your first draft of how to make things "fun" shows your talent for that. It sounds like so much fun!!! Enjoy!!! Laugh!!! Giggle!!! Giggle with your kids, you know that their giggles are catching. Tickle their tummies and giggle along with them.
Love your lists as well.
I love point number 1! The intermingling of crazy and sensible.
My idea- requires red lipstick-
Apply lipstick liberally (especially if you are a hippy and never wear it)- emerge one day into the living area inconsequentially and kiss indiscriminately. Carry on with household tasks. Reapply lipstick if necessary.
You sould write a book. Seriously.
SHOULD (sorry)
Wonderful ideas Rae! I too always found ways to make things more pleasurable. Being a very analytical person I tried as well to find ways to streamline things ...made a game of efficiency, coming up with systems and routines--sort of like the Father in Cheaper By the Dozen, but not to the same degree. I'd challenge myself and that became a game. Because of my nature/personality, that was fun for me. And it freed up my time, so I could have even more fun.
I think you will find this approach you are taking life changing. Finding the beauty and delight in the everyday ordinary things and habits not only makes life pleasurable, it becomes a thing to savour.
I noticed on your sidebar the book The Practice of the Presence of God. I loved that book too.
My oldest daughter suffered a brain injury when she was very young and has resulted in a permanent condition of being very childlike. One autumn when I was grumping through the chore of raking leaves I noticed her grinning from ear to ear. When I asked her why she was smiling she replied, " when you rake the leaves it sounds like hundreds and hundreds of people are cheering for you." From that point on my entire attitude changed. Because really it's hard to keep a grump on in front of an audience.
So Rae, I would like to add one thing to your list. During the busiest days, always remember to take a bow.
( Blowing kisses and thanking the crowd in an 'Elvis' voice is optional.)
Naming things is one of my favorites on your list.
When you have to go from one end of the hall to the other, skip. (or from room to room--just whenever you have enough room) Also, occasionally do those mostly-forgotten moves from modern dance in college, especially the leaps. You can do this in your kitchen.
I love this list too, and it's such a great reminder. Nobody likes grumpy mom mode, least of all the grumpy mom herself (as I schlump through the third hour of housecleaning...). My favorite of your ideas is putting cheery operating instructions on things. I'm thinking "Dive into an adventure" on the bookshelf and "Take your pick: deliciously clean children or personal goddess time" on the bathtub. :)
Yes! I love all of the ideas.
I think I may steal your "dive into an adventure" idea, Bethany.
edj, I laughed out loud at the modern dance with leaps. I didn't take modern dance, but I can picture the leaps perfectly. I can also picture the amusement of the neighbors (the windows in my kitchen are big and public)
Green Girl, this is something on my "to do" list, because I haven't gotten around to finding just the right names for my things that I use every day...
laura, I will have to write that quote about hundreds of people cheering for you down, and taking a bow is perfect.
Dinah Soar, if you are talking about the book Cheaper by the Dozen, I have it here with me and I always read it if I find myself flagging in inspiration to be efficient. love it.
paola, thanks for the encouragement, and I'm trying to write a book, oh, how I am trying.
and leaf, I will come to your house and use your lipstick idea on you.
I love to howl like a dog and crow like a rooster. People do stare, but who cares. Somehow the act just frees me up inside.
In the spirit of making things fun, here is a video on how to make "choosing the stairs" fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-EaT0WHaf0&feature=player_embedded#
I love the list!! One thing my parents used to do while I was growing up was the "Let's see who can get the chores done the fastest!" While it's not super imaginative it makes the chores into a game, and kids LOVE it! Plus the work gets done much much faster indeed! I also inspire myself by coming up with corners of my house I can photograph, but that would only look good if they were clean! Then I can look forward to the "after" much more. I love the naming idea! My tea pot really needs to be named!!
I'm with edj on the dancing, but I generally go with spinning and twirling. Arms out or up is best! oh, or a little Bollywood dancing...
I love number 5 it made me chuckle. Thanks for the great list, it really made me see how most of the time we just get caught up in the day to day (boring) routine. I will be trying a few of these ideas out.
YAY!! I knew I loved your blog when I stumbled upon it a month or so ago, but THIS is just like calorie free candy! :) Thank you! I will always pretend I'm somebody else in a movie and when the music is on I pretend I'm in a movie montage. How else sould I stay sane? (Or un-sane, I guess!)
this list is SO PRECIOUS! i love it! you have me smiling from ear to ear, feeling much more excited for my chores! thanks :)
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In the spirit of Laura's - there is a free/shareware timer program online called xnote stopwatch that I use to countdown 15 minutes. And for the alarm sound, I have it set to the sound of a crowd cheering. :)
I had a couple additional ideas...
If your kids have a dollhouse, set it up for whatever chore you're going to do next (laundry, kitchen, whatever) then go do the chore. Then come back and change it to the next thing on your list, and so on. No doubt your kids would love to help with this.
Even if you don't have a dollhouse, you could do the same, just drawing a stick-figure house and family - either the whole house, or just one room/scene from it at a time. Draw then do.