Monthly Musing – May 2021 – Bring the fun back

“So what have you done that’s fun recently?

I was chatting to one of my oldest friends on the phone – not oldest in years but in the length of time that I have known her.  We met in our twenties (on my honeymoon, actually!) but we have still grown up together, and even after all these years, when she knows me so very well (or perhaps because she does!), she still manages to ask me a question from time to time that makes me think for the rest of the day.

It sounded a simple enough question – we’d exhausted the family updates and the immediate news – but it absolutely stopped me in my tracks.  In fact, it stopped me for so long that I think she thought we had lost our connection, but the simple answer in the end was

“Nothing.”

To qualify this statement, we were chatting before the lockdown restrictions had started to lift and nobody was going anywhere to have any kind of fun, so there was a certain inevitability about what I was going to say.  However, it made me realise that although I have had plenty of fun moments over the last few months around what I’ve been doing generally so I’ve not been living a life of dull misery, it has been a long time since I deliberately planned anything into my calendar that’s “just for fun”.  In fact, I probably did it more during the first lockdown because we were all more focussed on how we were going to get through those restricted days but now – well, now, this is how we live, isn’t it?  For so long, the restrictions have meant that for many people (our family included), we’ve just ended up working harder and for longer hours.  If we’re not careful, even when we’re allowed out without any restrictions again, we’ll have got out of the habit of doing things just to have fun and that’s no way for us to live.

It will be easier to continue shopping online, to binge-watch box sets on TV and to not quite be bothered to go out and about the way we used to.  The Covid pandemic has changed everyone’s lives forever, and there are so many things that we need to press the reset button on.

I went to my first knit n natter session in well over a year on Friday morning.  It was a small, socially-distanced group but it was fun.  Just being in a room with other people, feeling the energy, listening to the conversations, looking at what other people were making, remembering their faces … it was enough to make my heart burst with happiness.  “We felt really giddy when we first came back too!” they told me.  It’s not a feeling you can get online or from a TV box set.  It’s something that makes you feel alive, something that we’ve all been missing for so long, and I am truly grateful that it is slowly becoming an option for us again.

It’s time to bring back the fun.

A wooden table with teapots, cups of tea, salt shakers, sugar in a bowl, a partly-knitted orange sock and a small accessories bag with houses

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20 Responses

  1. Maggieann says:

    Hi Christine luv your monthly musing look forward to reading and looking at your pictures, I totally agree with your comments made above we have changed and to try to get back to how we were is going g to be difficult but rewarding if we manage it. I at the moment am feeling lost between the two worlds but hopefully there is a light at the end of the tunnel keep my fingers crossed.
    Regards
    Margaret

    • Winwick Mum says:

      I really hope that we're going to return to a time when everything feels "normal" too – I know it's going to be different and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, but I am sure that as you say, it will be very rewarding! xx

  2. lilysgrannie says:

    Yes, here in California we are partly returning to 'normal' and today we are having a Memorial Day BBQ with our neighbors. None of have been together for a year and a half and its mighty strange thinking about being together again. One lady we haven't seen the entire time, another couple in eight months. We've all had our shots but we still need to trust each other for this to be fun.

    • Winwick Mum says:

      Yes, you're absolutely right. The vaccine hasn't made the virus go away, it's just made it less likely that we will end up very poorly if we catch it. You are definitely wise to be taking care, and I hope you had a lovely time! xx

  3. knitty44 says:

    Hi Christine. This lovely weather today is certainly a pick me up isn't. I agree with Margaret I too will find it hard to get back to some kind of normality. Still a bit Anxious on going out locally, but we will get there in the end, and if pigs can fly, I will finish my first pair of socks. 🤔🤭☺

    • Winwick Mum says:

      I hope those pigs are soaring very soon! I know what you mean about feeling anxious, we've been indoors for such a long time, but I hope that you manage to get out and about soon xx

  4. Carrie says:

    Oh so true, Christine! During lockdown I didnt really miss going out, but really missed seeing friends and family, but this week alone we have had friends round,I've met a friend for coffee, been to crochet and chat, and met friends I haven't seen for a year, been to the Gardeners World Spring Fair, been shopping with my granddaughter and today had a lovely morning with my daughter and my husband, a walk round our local town and breakfast out. It feels lovely to get back to socialising, and tho Zoom is better than nothing, it's not the same. Hopefully we can continue, our socially distanced interactions x

    • Winwick Mum says:

      Wow, you've had an amazing week! That certainly sounds like you've had lots of fun and I bet your well-being tanks are full to overflowing now. Long may it continue! xx

  5. Caro says:

    Ooh! What a thought-provoking question. I don’t think I ever intentionally do anything for fun but I am a fun-loving person and never struggle to find the joy in small things. It has been great to be able to return to our favourite cafés, real live yoga classes and mooch around my two wonderful local yarn stores in Lancaster, squish the yarn and have a nice chat and a laugh.

    • Winwick Mum says:

      It was a thought-provoking question, wasn't it? I'm really glad you've been able to get out and about again – and a choice of two local yarn shops is fabulous! xx

  6. happy hooker says:

    Like you, I have had some fun moments, but doing something just for fun eludes me. I suppose going to see my son and daughter in law, who I haven't seen for about 18 months now, could be classed as fun, but to me, it's a necessity! I think it'll take some time for many of us to feel safe and comfortable enough to "let ourselves go". For the time being, I'll settle for fun moments. xx

    • Winwick Mum says:

      It absolutely is a necessity, but I am sure it will be fun at the same time! I hope you have a lovely time xx

  7. Lenore says:

    I know exactly what you mean Christine. We are once again in lockdown and the weekly craft gathering I attend cannot meet. It was only reformed recently and we were all so excited to attend, it feels like my bubble has been popped again. I am so grateful that I live on a farm and there is always something that needs doing and of course there is craft. Xxx🌺

    • Winwick Mum says:

      Ah, it must be so demoralising to know that you're back in lockdown again, I did feel for you all over there when I heard the news. I do hope that things pick up soon and you're allowed out again before too long xx

  8. Unknown says:

    Hi
    I've just finished my first sock using your Super Socks book and Yorkshire Spinners yarn purchased through Black Sheep Wools. I'm very pleased with how it has turned out and it fits really well with a couple of adjustments I made to your pattern as advised.
    I was just wondering if you had any suggestions for the two small amounts of yarn that are going to be left over when I have finished my pair of socks?
    Thanks for helping make sock knitting so enjoyable. Jan

    • Winwick Mum says:

      Hi! I'm delighted that you've made your first sock, well done! There's always yarn left over (unless you have very big feet) – lots of people collect the scraps and make scrappy striped socks, or you can use them for blankets or toys – the choice is yours! xx

  9. selina says:

    what do we do just for fun? well that is a good question, think it's been years since i've considered it seriously. i enjoy many things but since i've stopped driving distance i miss little fun things i used to do, visit opshops, browse plant nurseries, eating in at a restaurant. i still get a buzz out of doing knitting, gardening & watching the chooks
    great post
    thanx for sharing

    • Winwick Mum says:

      I wonder if it's how we think of things? Anything we enjoy doing can be fun if we think about it that way – I think I've just out of the habit of doing that! xx

  10. Bonnie says:

    I went to the garden center for some annual plants for my patio. Unmasked! It was a lovely summery day after a long, cool spring. I commented to a woman in my aisle, "Isn't this fun?" and she cheerfully replied, and we stood there grinning at each other. More words weren't necessary.
    Bonnie in Minneapolis

  11. Deno says:

    I can absolutely relate to what you are saying. We met up with family on Monday for an outdoor BBQ, first time in 17 months. It was so much fun and made me so grateful to be able to do it. Am definitely enjoying a lot more the couple of things we have done so far! Think we're all still very cautious about certain things and everyone has to move at their own pace but hopefully things will continue to improve. ps still knitting my first sock 🤦‍♀️

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