One of my cousins owns a home near a beach and invited us out for a Cousins Weekend. No spouses, no kids, just her and her siblings, my siblings and I. It was a low key weekend of talking and laughing.
The first night there, one person needed to stop at the grocery store on the way home from dinner. As a joke, we decided to take a picture in front of the grocery store and send it to my brother who wasn’t able to make the trip. That idea snowballed into taking more silly photos and texting them to each other – nothing crazy; just capturing little moments of having fun doing simple things.
My sister and I left earlier than everyone else and on the drive home we got a few photos showing our cousins continuing to have a good time. It was great getting the pictures and feeling connected with them even as the literal distance grew between us. We weren’t ready to let the fun end…so we didn’t. We decided to stop at random places along the way, taking photos that would send a suggestive story – a tattoo shop, strip club, law offices… I have never had a more fun car ride in my life! My sister and I laughed hysterically about our crazy made-up story. And, since our cousins were laughing along with us through texts, it was like we were still with them.
One of the things that I love most about my family is that we’ve never stopped playing. Sure, we’ve grown up and have plenty of responsibilities. But unlike some people who believe that playtime is for children, we have always found ways to laugh, be creative and silly, and celebrate being alive. It keeps us young at heart and connected with each other.
I believe that we all have an inner child buried inside of us, that’s the purest, most joyful version of our identity. Letting our inner child out to play is one of the best ways I can think of to feel alive. When was the last time you let your inner child out to play?
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