“Girls just want to have fu-un.” I can hear Cyndi Lauper singing the song. What about boys? What about men? Can’t we “just want to have fu-un” too?
Having fun is a revolutionary idea for an adult. Sure, it’s great for kids. But for a grownup? Maybe a little bit of fun, but let’s set some limits here. Let’s not get carried away. Maybe on the weekends, after the to-do list is completed.
I have been breaking the rules. I have been riding around in my RV for several months now just having fun. Here are some of the places I have been: Frank Lloyd Wright houses in Chicago and Oak Park, a magnificent glass house, the Farnsworth house, in Plano, Illinois, Indiana Dunes National Park, an RV factory, a museum about Annie Oakley, the Football Hall of Fame, Acadia National Park, Campobello, the Bold Coast Trails in Cutler, Maine, Rangeley Lake, Quichee Gorge in Vermont, FDR’s home in Hyde Park, New York, Gettysburg, Amish country, Hershey, PA, Lackawanna Coal Mine, the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, a maple syrup manufacturing plant, a creamery, and many other places. I have found and visited old friends in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York and Maine. It has been so much fun!
My favorite place was Hershey. I did not visit the theme park, but there was so much to see and do, all in one day. And lots of chocolate to eat. On the trolley tour they passed around a tin full a different type of Hershey Kiss every few minutes. At the end of the day I was just infused with great energy.
Energy. Energy is what it is all about. I did not know this when I started on this RV saga. But I have found that having new experiences fills me with energy. It is strong and passionate energy for living. It expands me. It makes me bigger. It spills over into all the other things that I do in my life. Life goes better and is just more fun.
I have been trying to figure out why these experiences create so much energy for me. My theory is that they take me into “the now.” I hate to admit that. I have been an opponent of “the now” forever. I do not live in the past, but I love the future. So “the now” is an unusual place for me. I do not want to admit that those who talk about the benefit of “being in the now” are correct. But they are right. And I have found a route in that works for me.
But it is all so irresponsible! That is what I tell myself. It is not what grown men do. It is not a life full of purpose. It is not of service to anyone else. It is not valuable. It does not meet the standards of all that I have been taught and that I have taught others.
Is having fun OK? Can having fun be a purpose? It sure feels good. My friend, Jerry Jud, all the time says, “I just want to feel good. Even a worm wants to feel good.” Can a life be built around feeling good? Boy, that is a big proposition. I do not know the answer, but I am trying hard to find out.
And I need more kisses.
