Isn’t this so very true?  When we were kids, we colored and drew pictures.  We didn’t care how it turned out.  We played games and let our imagination run wild.  We made up skits with our friends.  Sang songs. We had fun.

And then we had to “get serious” about school.  And work. And life. We gave up the fun stuff for a career and families.  No time for coloring any more, only time for “adult stuff”.

I was a secret craft person even in adulthood.  I learned how to knit and crochet when I was a kid.  I also learned how to sew but never really had the knack for it.  Something about having to sew in straight lines just really wasn’t for me.  I always joke that I can’t draw a straight line with a rule, and that is mostly true.

But it was hard to admit to my friends that I enjoyed knitting.  KNITTING!  Not exactly what a single girl “should” be doing on a Saturday night when all the cool people were out clubbing.  And then I mostly gave it up when taking care of a house while working full time took over my life.

Several years after moving to Florida, I started to sing with a choral group.  I missed music in my life – I played clarinet throughout high school and college and took piano lessons for many years.  Music, too, left my life after becoming an adult.  My soul missed it.

Last fall I took a mosaic tile class because it seemed like a fun thing to do.  No drawing involved!  It was a really awesome day of working on one creative piece.  No anxieties.  No worries.  No real stress.  One of the comments I made to the instructor was I was tired of having things be “even”.  I wanted to color outside the lines again.

After the class, I intended to do other projects but life, once again, became busy.   How sad is it that we push relaxation and fun stuff to the side to do those other adult things seemingly All.The.Time.

And then I crocheted two afghan throws for a wedding gift for my nephew who is getting married soon.  It had been six years since I had done any knitting or crocheting.  The last time was to make my mom some hats after she lost her hair from going through chemo treatments.  I realized how much I missed just creating something for pleasure.

The mosaic art urge is back, too.  It’s nice to think about something other than work or the house or the never ending to do list or just life in general.   Maybe this is why coloring books are coming back in style again for ADULTS.  We need to have fun.  We need to create.  We need to take time to just be.

The child in my soul is coming out to play.