I remember once when I was in India. I was on a beach near Bombay (Mumbai) and I found a lot of tiny hermit crabs. I collected them, lined them up facing the ocean and then had a race to see which one made it back to the water first. I was so engrossed in this that I looked up and was surprised to see a crowd of Indians, ladies in saris, men in suits, standing silently watching me. Either they thought I was conducting some kind of scientific experiment or some kind of religious ceremony! No. I was playing.
I'm so glad that my family loves charades and other silly games. When the granddaughters were small we would go into the woods and find the right tree to build fairy houses. We'd line with moss, weave little mats, decorate with bark and hide the entrance so that the fairies would be safe. Once I came upon one of our houses years later and still in tact. (Obviously the fairies took good care of it).
So I'm looking forward to that playground where I was officially allowed to swing and climb. Wouldn't that be great? Only one thing: it would need a high fence around it so that teenagers could not stare and giggle.
What about you? Do you still like to play?
JENN MCKINLAY: I'm fifty and I still ride a skateboard and not for the exercise. I also love to go sledding, skating, and my boys and I recently did an extreme rope obstacle course sixty feet up in the air in the pine trees of Flagstaff. It was three hours of climbing, swinging, jumping awesomeness! I believe playing is the best way to engage the imagination no matter how old you are. What I miss most about being a children's librarian is the time spent playing. I got paid to put on puppet shows, have Lego hour, sing, dance, play with a parachute, join in on video game tournaments, and, of course, read children and YA books. I love, love, love that they are building playgrounds for the senior kids, Rhys! Sign me up!
HALLIE EPHRON: A senior kids playground? Sign me up, too!
My grandkids keep me playing. Reading stories. Singing songs. Playing games. When we were in Puerto Rico in March I had a wonderful time playing for hours with 4-year-old Franny in the pool. What I wish I could do more readily is get down on all fours (and get up again).
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Charades? I'm in. Celebrity? Sure. Scrabble? Absolutely, unless Jonathan is playing, in which case forget about it because I have no chance. Any kind of parlor game, I am all for it and fearless. Board games with the kids? I have played four games of Chutes and Ladders IN A ROW. And Citizens of Kataan , which I didn't even know what was. But totally up for it.
But. Outside? See-saws and swings? Really, no. Skateboarding, surfing, roller skating, parcour, Segway riding, bungee jumping, parachuting, deathwishing? I am home doing crosswords.
I feel bad about this.I'm sure it's a personal failing.
RHYS: No bungee jumping, skateboarding or parachuting for me either, Hank. I don't like anything that goes too fast. Never did like roller coasters. But I do still love boogie boarding!
LUCY BURDETTE: I love Charades and Boggle, and especially, Bananagrams! Though I sure do like to win, as does all of my family. The competition can get ferocious, though we've all learned to be a little more gracious with age:). I am looking forward to granddaughter Dorothea growing to be reminded of all the stages of play. Hopefully Clue and Monopoly will still be around, though there will always be cards!
INGRID THOFT: That obstacle course sounds amazing, Jenn! I would love to do that, but unfortunately, I’m at a chapter in my life where I’d need to get clearance from my spine doctor before undertaking such an activity! I’m hopeful once I get my back issues settled, I’ll be able to resume more playful activities. I’ve yet to zip line, boulder or rock climb, all of which are on my to-do list. Play may be “the work of childhood”—quote attributed to Fred Rogers, Maria Montessori or psychologist Jean Piaget, depending upon your source—but I think play also begets joy. Who couldn’t use more of that?
For the time being, I’m still able to engage in more sedentary play. A few weeks ago, I found myself in a heated game of Uno with my nephew, and Scattegories is a Thoft family favorite. I also have a soft spot for Rat-A-Tat-Cat and Sleeping Queens, both card games for 6-10-year-olds. If you haven’t played them, you should!
DEBORAH CROMBIE: Rhys, count me in on the Playground for Seniors! I love to swing and seesaw and slide, although not too crazy about the merry-go-round. I think dogs and babies are nature's way of reminding grownups to be silly and to be totally in the moment. I play goofy games with my dog every day, and I LOVE playing with Wren. I can't wait for tea parties and adventures of all kinds, and board games, too. But for the moment, it's silly voices and songs and peek-a-boo, and that's great, too.
RHYS: So you see, we Reds still like to have fun. And have you noticed we tend to be competitive too? All right: who else is going to join us at the senior playground?
A senior playground? What fun! But no roller coasters, skateboards, parachuting, zip lines, rock climbing, bungee jumping, or those crazy swing rides at the boardwalk that everyone else seems to love. Regular swings are okay; seesaws, too . . . .
ReplyDeleteBoard games? I’m there. My grandson likes to play Clue [me, too!] and chess. And all the grandchildren enjoy playing our special Monopoly [Century of Flight: Aviation edition] and Life [Star Wars edition] . . . .
I'll give a senior playground a go, if they allow us to go very slowly. This past week caused an old knee injury to flare up again, and I had to deal with the words "mobility impaired." I hate that prospect, but I also have to honor it if the knee is ever going to get better. Swinging, sliding, and even the merry-go-round sound delightful to me. Plus I love board games. I've played countless rounds of Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders with various younger Norwoods over the years. And, seriously, why not bring back story hour for adults, too? I know we can have all the audio books we'd like, but if I'm ever sitting around a senior facility, I think it would be great fun to listen to a good reader in a community read-in setting.
ReplyDeleteI'm not in the "senior" group just yet. However, this would not be a thing I would be interested in doing. I prefer going to concerts or just home watching TV and reading. The basic boring stuff.
ReplyDeleteConcerts? Boring? Man, I hope not, or I'm out of a job. Thanks for coming out, though, Jay!
DeleteHa ha, Jay - Boring stuff? Sign me up!
ReplyDeleteCan someone make weeding my garden into a game?
Hallie, okay what the majority of people would consider boring then. :D
DeleteAs for gardening, I did that when I was in Boy Scouts for some merit badge or something. Beyond that, it is far too much effort to expend...having a garden.
Of course, I should probably become more active since my doctor doesn't buy my philosophy that if I can push myself out of bed in the morning, that's enough exercise for me.
Me, too! Wait, I still play at the regular playground when I get a chance! I used to chase the boys around the yard and house, hide at the corners, spring out at them and chase them screaming with laughter the other way. I have no idea what passersby or the neighbors thought! Rode their bumper cars and raced them (no idea what these were called, but they had no pedals), climbed trees, swung on ropes--I'm not ready for storytime, yet, though nap time sounds great!
ReplyDeleteRhys, I love the hermit crab race. We used to get two different kinds of bugs and put them together, and see if they would fight. Bug wars.
ReplyDeleteThe little girls up the block have elaborate fairy houses, and they also have a Good Fairy who rearranges and redecorates, leaves treats, moves venue and more. All it takes is a trip to the Dollar Tree a couple of times a year, to stock up on dollar crap, and away we go. It is joy in my life to see their delight.
ReplyDeleteMy other daily play is the morning walk with the dogs, which they both consider a holy act of obligation. I've not visited a playground since the last time with my grandchildren, and the twelve year old prefers video games. I'm hopeless but I try.
I used to adore amusement parks and roller coasters. Now I have so many bionic parts and am afraid I will blow a fuse. In my amygdala or some place.
Board games, not so much except for Scrabble, but I am hell on wheels when there's a card game, prefer bridge because it makes me feel all grown up and I'm pretty excellent at it. However I won't turn down Go Fish or Snap or whatever is on offer.
Playing is what children do to learn and adults do to remember.
I love the idea of the Good Fairy. Those girls are so lucky to have one in their neighborhood!
DeleteI just saw a new playground yesterday, and I wanted to stop the car and go check it out. Fortunately for everyone involved, in was raining.
ReplyDeleteI love board games too -- Sorry!, The Game of Life, Monopoly, Balderdash, Scattergories, Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit -- then there is always Mah Johng, which my Grandmother taught all of us how to play when we were about 5!
At a neighborhood picnic our alderman's daughter heard a group of us talking about our various exercise classes and habits and laughed. "I don't exercise, I PLAY." We agreed that she made perfect sense and vowed to do more playing. One of our parks has separate areas for smaller and bigger children . . . why not one for senior children as well?
ReplyDeleteOh , Celia, you can play mah-jongg? I think that is so brilliant. Maybe you should teach all of us?
ReplyDeleteAnd Hallie, aren't you a whiz at bridge? Are used to know how to play, and I have to say it was pretty great. But lots to remember…
I'd love to teach you how to play Mah Jongg (although I don't know if you'd want a teacher who couldn't spell it right!) It's basically gin, played with Chinese tiles with a few tweaks ~
DeleteI love any kind of board game or card game (although, I admit to being near useless with Scrabble - I think it has to do with that planning and spatial thing).
ReplyDeleteI used to like physical activity more - biking, roller blading, hiking, even did white-water rafting once. I still like it, but unfortunately those activities don't like me very much these days. The Boy is going caving this weekend and I'm a wee bit jealous!
Mary/Liz
Wonderful idea to have a playground for seniors. I would have loved to see a photo of the hermit crabs race that you created in India.
ReplyDeleteInteresting comments about card games.. I remember learning math through playing cards.
I used to love card games but now that you can play solitaire on the computer I don't even own a deck of cards.
DeletePoker would be great except Lady Luck never smiles on me so why sign up just to lose money. And that of course rules out strip poker obviously, LOL!
I love card games and board games. Thankfully, the Hooligans can be lured away from video games for a solid board game. Monopoly is a blood sport in our house.
DeleteI've never played a game on the computer--I'm afraid I would love it too much.
DeleteI love the playground for seniors idea! I have always been a serious klutz, which leads to an interesting mix of likes/dislikes. I have ziplined several times and loved it, and I love to kayak, and adore hikes in the woods. Plain old swings are good with me, too, and slides. But lots of other traditional playground games I hate, because I have apparently zero eye-hand coordination and a rotten sense of balance, so most ball games are out, along with all forms of skating, climbing and rappelling.
ReplyDeleteI also love board games and cards. My husband and I play euchre every other month with a group of couples. We have been at it for more than a decade now, and still look forward to it. (Every other month seems like just the right frequency.) And if I do say so, I'm a decent card player -- I am generally at least in contention for part of the pot.
Oh, and Jenn, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I read that you are fifty. From your photo and your general comments over the months, I would have guessed you in your thirties!
SO true, Susan~
DeleteSign me up! After all, I do mud runs, which you could say are adult playgrounds. And I'm always looking forward to more people to play board games with as well.
ReplyDeleteI was seriously contemplating a mud run when my disc herniated, Mark. I'm so jealous! Hopefully, there's one in my future.
DeleteOh, I love a good mudder! Our city has an annual mud day in which everyone turns out to play in the mud. It's messy and gross and great fun!
DeleteFunny how when you played in mud as a kid, you'd get in trouble. Now it's an exercise activity.
DeleteBoard games for me! Our family loves board games. Otherwise, my favorite place to play is in and around water. I love to hang out in a pool or float down the Saco River, both of which always involve a lot of dunking and laughing.
ReplyDeleteRight now my very arthritic left knee is killing me, so just the thought of tramping around a playground makes me wince. How about a playground in orbit? No gravity sounds fun!
I loved swimming when I was growing up. The beach, the pool where I took lessons at the Y. Boats made me seasick, but didn't really have much call to be on one.
DeleteBut I don't do that now. Every time I'd get out the water, the environmental movement would show up and try to roll me back in. :D
Floating sounds lovely, Julia. We used to go to my sister-in-law's family reunion every year in the Texas Hill Country, and activities included floating down rocky rapids in inner tubes. And then a trip to Dairy Queen. What fun! I count gardening as play, too (at least until I get too sore.) We're never too old to dig in the dirt.
ReplyDeleteI've never been good at card games, although my dad taught me to play gin when I was little, and my parents played 42 religiously. The thing is, I don't remember numbers. That little impairment definitely rules out bridge!
By the way, did/does anyone else play 42? And I loved just playing with the dominoes when I was a kid. Building things with them, lining them up, stacking them in the box.
I'm too klutzy to be good at a lot of physical activities, and when I was a kid, people didn't want me on their teams. But I do like the idea of a senior playground. Just recently I was thinking how I'd love to be on a swing, and remembering how the air felt on my body!
ReplyDeleteBecause of spine and hardware issues I won't ever be able to parachute or bungee jump, but I like to imagine what it must feel like!
I'm a competitive Monopoly player(just ask my siblings!) , and I also love Clue. The summer that I was twelve I was one of the top three girl Checkers players in my age group in our town.
Deb Romano
Oh, so with you! I was always last picked--such a pitiful athlete. :-) Now I know it's that my vision and depth perception were what was pitiful.
DeleteAnd whoa, a checkers champ. SO cool.
I think movement is important no matter how little. I was never a runner but about a year ago my hips started to lock up - probably from sitting at the desk for so long. I tried stretches and yoga but nothing worked. Then my schnauzer developed a weight problem so we started jogging. He dropped five pounds and my hips unlocked. I doubt it'd work for everyone but it worked for me.
ReplyDeleteI swim daily. I adore snorkeling whenever I'm near a reef, love the ocean and hike with friends every week which is free psychotherapy!
ReplyDeleteMeet you at the playground after lunch, Rhys! That sounds like great fun, especially if they have swings.
ReplyDeleteRiding horses is my favorite kind of play, especially a nice long trail ride with women friends. And doesn't bike riding count, Roberta? My husband plays tennis, as often as he can these days, and it gladdens my heart to see how boyish he gets in anticipation.
Hank, vision and depth perception issues here, too. It's ridiculous, isn't it?
I think a senior playground is a brilliant idea. The love of playing is an ageless one. I have always loved toys, and having kids and now grandkids has been the perfect opportunity to play with such ones as Strawberry Shortcake and Barbies and Legos. My grown children have always teased me about buying toys for me instead of them. Well, there was the instance of buying the Shrek figure and keeping it on my bookshelves (still there). I have lots of toys available for the seven-year-old granddaughter, and we both are wild about fairies. She gets me outside some, too, and last week she had an archery set (toy, but good copy of real thing) we enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteI adore board games, but I don't get the opportunity to play them much these days. Maybe it would be fun to get friends together for traditional board games, such as Clue or Monopoly. I love cards, too, but I'm not very good at them, so Bunco and that sort of gathering really isn't for me. My husband and I played cards (Spades) with a couple when we first were married, but I was more excited about the dessert each week. My husband came from a serious Spades playing family, so he was a bit too serious about it. I still enjoy kids' card games, like Crazy Eights and Go Fish and Slap Jack.
Ingrid, I was thinking about buying the Sleeping Queens card game, and with your comments on it, I will do so now. Rhys, you are a hoot with your hermit crab race.
The end of this month I will get to play big time with my daughter's family, as we are all going to the Harry Potter parks at Universal Orlando. I am so excited to be sharing this experience in major play with them. I'm already dreaming of what wand I will pick out.
Sleeping Queens is great, Kathy! We got it based on a recommendation; it's definitely a crowd pleaser!
DeleteHas anyone played the game Apples to Apples? The best holiday we ever had was a few years ago at my Michigan daughter's house. We were snowbound, with three enerations of family members. Between the neverending Apples to Apples tourney, and Dance Wars using the Wii, we had a marvelous time.
ReplyDeleteEven my son-in-law's mom, who was mostly blind, had a ball. My patient husband helped her use what little peripheral vision she had left to "bowl" with the Wii, and our grandson read her A to A questions for her. She passed away a month later, so it's an especially sweet memory for us all, to know she had a couple of days to play.
Oh yes, Karen! How did I leave that one out? We love Apples to Apples, and they even have a junior version of it.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOh, Karen, I LOVE Apples to Apples! I haven't played in a few years. I'll have to put that on the agenda for our summer vacation!
ReplyDeleteDeb Romano