Solitary Enjoyment by Angie Ledbetter

I had a rare opportunity this afternoon while visiting my parents. I didn't have anything I had to do, no place to be, no duty calling. It wasn't meal time and my cell phone was quiet. I suddenly had truly free time and could do anything I chose. This may sound strange to a lot of people who get "down time" often or can fill their days with leisure and activities of their choice. But for me, it was a strange occurrence.

I suddenly had an urge to do something I used to do when I was young (before the advent of computers) or during summers and holidays in my college days -- play solitaire. I opened the side table in my folks' living room and got out a crisp deck of Hoyle playing cards. Sitting on the floor, I laid out the classic 7 piles for the game and played a hand or two. I actually even won a couple! It was a simple and enjoyable pastime and sent me back in time.

Nostalgia wafted from the cards as I shuffled them hand over hand and then did the slightly more complicated bridge shuffle. Even the smell of the cards sent me to childhood. Back in the days when we and the dinosaurs roamed, kids weren't over scheduled with activities, sports, and such every moment they weren't in school. We had to invent ways to entertain ourselves; much of it outside running around with other neighborhood kids or making up imaginary games to play. We challenged ourselves and each other over games of pickup sticks, jacks, marbles, and cards.

Cards were a permanent fixture in our home, and we all knew a ton of card games by heart. We spent hours dealing out hands or playing one of many solitaire versions. In fact, the DiBenedetto household spent so much time with decks of cards that my twin sister and I got in quite a bit of trouble on our first day of kindergarten. Our teacher Miss Territo called our parents and said, "The twins need help. When the class counts numbers out loud, your girls say, '...nine, ten, jack, queen, king!'"

So many fond memories tied to those 52 little paper rectangles.

Ah, Spontaneity by Angie Ledbetter

For many years, I was a prisoner of Responsibility and Routine – not the kind of R&R one usually welcomes. Married to a man who worked on the road for the better part of every year, I was pretty hemmed in with three babies at home. When the kids were all finally in school, my days shifted to include part-time odd jobs as well as being the main parent. Still not lots of freedom in the schedule. But now that they are in their late teens and two of them are driving, my days have suddenly loosened a bit.

Having lived under sometimes stifling duties, and spinning my wheels deeply in ruts (not that I’d change those years for anything), the freedom I’m experiencing is heady. For the first time since I was 16, except for the 5 years I was home with babies, I’m not employed outside my home. I flummoxed around at first trying to find a new routine, but with Spontaneity back in my life, I’m loving it.

Isn’t there some corny saying, song lyric, children’s book, or ad campaign that says, “Free to be me?” (Probably some tag line for a feminine product!) That’s how I’m feeling these days. Spontaneity allows me these and many other gifts:

*More time to create poetry and to work on writing projects.
*Time to take a poetry course and to attend writing conferences.
*Freedom to visit my parents and/or eat lunch with friends.
*The ability to show up at my kids’ school in costume. (And I have many!)
*Time to observe and appreciate the often-missed smaller details of life.
*An occasional nap around freelance assignments.

So, today, and for as long as it lasts, I am truly thankful for all the great things Spontaneity affords me. He’s a much kinder, selfless partner than those evil twins, Responsibility & Routine!

Wanna see how grateful you are? Check out this online quiz: http://www.beliefnet.com/section/quiz/index.asp?sectionID=&surveyID=105