Greetings, my Good Friends….. Hope this finds you all well and safe.
Have you seen my latest WHY NOT??? post on my Facebook Author page? If you have, then you know I have dyed my hair a very vivid purple at the request of my teenage grand-girls. Yes, I have jumped “head first”, no pun intended, into the world I have waited a long time to enter…. I have earned the right to be as eccentric as I want to be, purple hair and all. LOL
Well , now, take it easy on me. Don’t judge me. Instead, come along with me and enter the magic portal of fun I am bringing to my life, where it is okay to play, to have music on all the time, and be absolutely crazy about life. At my stage of life, I can definitely tell you that life is very, very short and somewhere along the way, many of us have forgotten how to bring out the fun side of ourselves and just play.
I started asking “Why Not” when I was asked to do something fun I had not done before, something out of the framework of being at my stage of life. I have heard others say as we get older that we should “act our age,” especially when we wear something designed for a younger crowd, or when we do something they can’t imagine themselves doing! Seriously, ”act our age” is totally disrespectful. Nobody knows what that means!!!! So, to everyone who says it, STOP SAYING IT.
Come along with me, relax, breathe and smile…..Let’s take a journey down the path of eccentricism and for a while, act the age we feel, not what some calendar or society, whoever the hell “society” is, tells us we are.
I have to say that no matter what age we are, I think that if our minds are still working well, and we have not lost our imagination and playfulness, that we should do as many fun things as we can on a daily basis. I mean, after all, laughter makes a person even look younger, so laugh it up. And it costs nothing to dance, sing, play, and share laughter.
And with that as a start, I have a fun new subject for this blog; another “Why Not” way of thinking.
One thing I have done to keep my mental health in check and bring more fun into my life is to play a few different Role Playing Games (RPG) or tabletop games. I play some fun characters in some fun groups. I have played mind-bending games like D&D, (it is NOT the bad game we all heard it was), Space Adventures, Super Natural, Super Heroes, and open to playing a few more as time goes on.
And before anyone starts being shocked, let me ask how many of you watch Game of Thrones, The Hobbit, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Lord of the Rings, and for downright magic, how about Harry Potter?
Why I Love Role-Playing Games (RPG)
- I can be a Young Sexy Character
- It gives me the opportunity to be creative in my thinking.
- I have to think on the spot. Invent as I go according to the Game Masters story.
- I belong to a group and a very fun inspiring group.
- I, my Character, is important to the game.
- I learn about different Characters, Scenarios, Logistics, not to mention working as a Team.
- I can also play a grumbling grouchy Character and No one is going to ask me if I need a laxative. LOL
- I can go from a child-like Character to an Ogre to a Sorceress to an Angelic Elf to a Ranger to a Super Hero to an owner of a Magic Shop and on and on.
- I get to spend creative quality time with other players, friends, and family.
- Playing in a group of RPG players brings a great amount of laughter which we all need.
Older people are often ignored and forced to live in loneliness for lack of family, friends, and the gift of being part of a group. Worse yet, older people allow this to happen. If I had my way, every senior center would offer RPG activities and we would stop being the age others think we are. In addition to combating loneliness, RPG activities keep our minds sharp. Mental acuity can wane as we age, and our brains need to be simulated!
Some Links to Explore
10 Celebrities You Didn’t Realize Were Huge D&D Nerds. I mean, come on…. If Judi Dench plays D & D “Why Not” me, right?
Exploring New Hobbies in Retirement: Board Games and Tabletop RPGS
This Ain’t Your Grandma’s D&D! A very funny video of some older folks learning to play D&D.
So, my friends, live life to its fullest, play a little or a lot, laugh every day about something or several times a day is even better, listen to music while you are taking in life, dance and sing whether you are nimble or can carry a tune and above all make note of all you are grateful for every day.
“Game On”…..…” Why Not?”
Hugs
Carolyn