It’s been a busy month for me and my little world. I have been involved in a big musical at our local community theater. Theater and dancing is something I’ve always done. And now as an adult, I have found a place to continue to enjoy that hobby in a beautiful way. It’s time consuming, but it is very life giving. 

It’s an odd thing because there are a lot of other hard things going on in my life. Tough relationships, a sick loved one, in between jobs, and just managing the chaos of the day to day like most of us. So it seems out of place to spend so much of my time, at the theater. 

A part of me wonders if I am pushing real life aside to do this very unreal thing. And another part of me thinks, this is exactly what I should be doing. Finding a place to have fun, let go, be creative and meet other people. 

One of the things I love the most is the people I meet. All ages, all backgrounds, all walks of life we come together for a common purpose. There’s nothing so unique as to when you get a group of people together who love to sing and dance and bring story lines to stage. I love being outside my usual bubble of people. I love that when I go there, I feel free.

We all feel free.

We are free from the mundane and free from the work day and dishes. We are free of expectations and “adulting” and the judgement of others. We get to be ourselves. We get to play like kids. We just go and we create. And, we LOVE each other in the process.

We cheer each other on. We tell each other when we sounded amazing or danced so well. We tell one another when their joke was perfectly timed or when their gesture made us bust up in laughter. I’m not sure if there’s a place you could get more accolades, than with fellow cast members in a community theater show. 

People often ask me, how are you a mom of four and doing this. I usually reply, oh because their dad is awesome at holding down the fort. And while that is true, perhaps my reply should be- how could I be a mom of four and NOT be doing this?

As I pursue my passions I am raising them to see I am a human being; and an artist that needs to create and spend time with other humans. Showing them the importance of finding out what brings joy to my life, and doing it whenever I can, might be the most important thing that I could model. After all, that’s what I want them to do, too.

They are and always will be my priority, but I wouldn’t be nearly as good of a mom to them if I wasn’t fully being me. And this spark for music and dance, is a really big part of what makes me, me. I know this, because when I am not doing it, I am not sparkling so bright inside.

So, I turn the table around and desire to ask you a similar question.

What makes you come alive? What brings you joy? What gets you out of your bubble and into the world with others? What’s a hobby that if you chose to spend time on, for nothing other than the fun of it, would make you feel a little more...like you? 

It doesn’t need to be as big as a musical. It can be knitting a scarf or baking for a friend. It can be sketching one evening or bowling on a Saturday with friends. Whatever it is, I want to encourage you to free up some space in your schedule to do it. And see if you feel a little more energized and whole afterward. 

If you can’t think of anything, think back to what you used to do as a child. What were your favorite after school activities or favorite subjects? Something you did just for fun with friends. I bet, they’ll come flooding back to you at the mere thought of them. 

Happy hobby hunting friends…may you find a place for your heart to sparkle a little brighter as you do the things you were made to do.

Because this world needs you, to be you.

Your talents are gifts to this world. Your joy is a treasure that shows others hope. Don’t be afraid to make your quest for fun, an important one. 

After all, having fun matters too. 

XO,

Jenna