What Would Be Your Idea of a Fun Day?

Remember that email quiz making the rounds last year and maybe still is? You’re asked to fill out some questions such as your favorite color, and what your living arrangements are and then send them back to the sender. One of the questions is “What would be your idea of a fun day?”

If you’re like me, this question would send you daydreaming. Oh, this, or maybe that. Going to a ballgame, eating at Los Patios. Laughing with Adam, or going to the park with Billy.

I outlined a whole day – sleeping late, having a leisurely shower, having my hair turn out, meeting so-and-so for lunch, taking in a movie … it went on and on. I also found myself thinking back on “fun days” from the past. A fun day would be like all 12 days on my Russian River cruise. Where to begin? A fun day would be something with my granddaughter, but where to begin? The park? McDonald’s playground? The zoo?

I put a lot of thought into this!

Maybe your list would be focused on “nots”. Not having to get up early. Not having to go to work. A day when the dog doesn’t piddle on the carpeting, or a bill collector doesn’t call.

Maybe it was dependent on others. A day when my boss is in a good mood. A day when Dad has time for me. A day when Peter makes me laugh.

Or maybe it’s a list of “ifs”? My idea of a fun day would be going to the theater IF I could afford it. Or being with Doug IF we were still together. Or going to the amusement park IF it were still there.

And what about the “whens”? A fun day would be when I’m out of school, or when I don’t have to work, or when I get my credit cards paid off, or when I’m an adult.

And what about the fantasies? A fun day would be going to the moon, or buying a $1,000,000 home, or sitting in a hot tub with Britney Spears, or talking with Albert Einstein, or meeting your great-great-great grandmother.

Well, how about this answer from my six-year-old friend?

Q: What would be your idea of a fun day?
A: Today.

How immediate children are. How focused they are on the moment. And when you stop and think about it, why not today? It either lies before us, rich with possibilities, or it lies behind us, with the possibility of focusing on the fun that was had, or right now we could decide to have fun or maybe we are. If you aren’t having fun right now, you could be in the next moment.

But why stop and think about it. “Today” is the best possible answer to that question.

Carpe diem. Seize the moment! Children do it so well. Why do we lose this capacity? Next time someone asks you, “What’s your idea of a fun day?” I hope you say, “Today.”