Recess and dismissal arrived in my mental inbox. A recess is a period in which a group of people are temporarily dismissed from their duties. It is interesting that this term about a group of people would have been used for children. And that recess is common in two areas: primary school and parliament/government breaks.
There is much written about the need for small children to have breaks or recesses - playtime, social time, physical activity. The results of studies show that "The best way to improve children's performance in the classroom may be to take them out of it."
But there is very little written about adults having recess. A coffee break is the closest thing - and that wasn't playtime. A bit of minor exercise. Maybe we were supposed to have recess at lunch. But lunch turned into eating at one's desk as the decades rolled on. Lots of work and little play during our day.
My observation of adult "play" is that it is comprised of rigid sports games and social activities. Everything has a lot of rules. Adults reveal in difficult and harsh activities. Lots of combat and competition.
Consider this: there is no Olympic moment for swinging on a swing or sliding down a slide. Imagine skipping. These are not action-packed, combative and competitive activities that make for adult worlds records. We laugh these off as simple and silly. As an example, even my dog Millie can slide down a slide.
I became aware of the fun of childrens'play activities in the high intensity interval training class at my Y. It includes rope skipping, medicine ball throwing and rope ladder hopscotching. I realized I hadn't done any of these things since I was a child. They are fun to do. When and how did we stop...
It may be that we rejuvenate recess for adults ass we make our way through the Pandemic. Things like Red rover, hide-and-seek, musical chairs, leap frog, kickball, dodgeball, Simon says. That would be an excellent New Year's Resolution:
More play, less work to keep Jack on track.
Between Sea and Sky - this is the seahorse at the Winterthur Pond in poised in that magic space between water and sky.
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