My Top Two Ways to Have Fun Adulting

When I was a teenager, I remember helping my friend clean out her aunties car and we were dreaming about the days when we would own our own car. Where we would go, who we would see, and what it would feel like to enjoy the freedom of adulthood. We wouldn't have to go to school or be home by a certain time. We would make our own rules and do our own thang.

Things are a bit different now that I am an adult. I catch myself complaining on how little time I have or about the bills and I question if I'm living the dreamI once thought of that summer afternoon wiping down the dusty dashboard. It can become easy to get caught up in all the responsibilities of adulthood but these are my top two ways how I still have fun while doing what I gotta do.

Plan It

Super easy right? Naturally, I'm a planner so this comes really easy to me. I like to plan for future fun activities. For example, I would plan a massage appointment, paint night, shopping trip, lunch with a friend, see a show at the theater, or go bowling for instance. Whatever the case may be, I planned the FUN!

This became super important to me when I was in a rewarding but stressful job where I was on-call for a week at a time dealing with a variety of crisis issues. I would work Thursday to Thursday and have Friday off. So I always tried to plan something relaxing or fun on that day. It was typical to find me at the local cafe with a chai tea latte and a croissant, hit up an Indian restaurant for lunch, get a swedish massage, or visit the nail salon with literally hundreds of gel polish colors! I would also do the free stuff like take a walk at the park, window shop, or watched a documentary or bollywood film on Netflix.

I'm an extrovert so being around friends and family is really important to me. I love a good conversation. I'm that friend that pulls out her calendar when you say lets hang out sometime...haha. I don't play! I like to hand out and meet up with friends and catch up . Too many times an hour lunch is not long enough and we end up chatting in the parking lot for another hour. I believe you know yourself at this point in your life. What do you enjoy doing? When are some peak times in your life where you can plan some fun right before or after a peak season? What your favorite free and paid activity?

Overcome the Inconveniences

When I first became a mom, going anywhere with my daughter in the car seat seemed like such a chore. I mean getting the baby bag ready, lugging the car seat, purse, and baby bag around, getting into the car, playing kids songs in the car, arriving at the mall, then taking out the stroller and making sure the brake is on so the stroller doesn't roll away, watching out for crazy folks in the parking lot, take the car seat out, and then finally make my way to the mall entrance. SO many times, I stayed home because I didn't want to deal with it all.

Like I said early, I'man extrovert. So there is no way I'm staying in the house for too long. I look ahead and thought about scenarios that might come up. I would pack extra bottles, diapers, snacks, and a change of clothes...ya know for the poopie blow outs. I had an idea for three places to stop by but was okay with one if need be. By a certain point i your life, you know some possible scenarios that may come up with the kids. How can you take care of them so you can take care of you?

Travel time is also a big issue around me in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Driving across town or simply getting on the highway is considered too far away. In my hometown, the closest mall was seven minutes down the road but the bigger mall was only about 20 minutes away but it always "felt" longer because we had to get on the highway. Crazy right? I mean I am fortunate enough to have a car to go places in and the gas money to travel a bit more outside of my work commute and here I am complaining about 20 minutes...

I decided to just deal with it. If I want to go see a friend, I'm going to go. If I want to check out the new play, a half hour away, I did it. Now, don't get me wrong, there are some places I have to know in advance like anything more than an hour away, I have be ready for that but sometimes I'll do it anyway. One time in college, I left to see my BFF 45 minutes away at 10:30pm at night. In college time, that's not really late but I was in my jammies y'all. I packed a bag and left. It was great catching up with my friend and chit chatting like old times.

So come one tell me the truth, how often does distance prevent you from having fun? What are some things you would like to do if time traveled wasn't an issue? Do you have any crazy "drove to the nearest White Castle three hours away at 1am" kind of stories?