Have you ever gotten caught up in what needs to be improved, what needs to be better, or what needs to change in your life and forget to have FUN?
While you're striving through the hard, challenging, or mundane times, having fun living and enjoying life is equally important. Fun is a gift from God and the resources He provides to have fun are a gift from Him too!
Fun may feel like, "Wow! This is what we're working for, to be able to have these times of fun!" It may sound like Mary Poppins saying that in everything that must be done, there is an element of fun, but there should be an element of fun in many things. If you don't have joy, fun, play, and excitement in your life, I encourage you to cultivate it!
How I Cultivate Fun-Going for the Lava Lamp Plushy
One evening after a faith event at a Pittsburgh Pirates game, my husband, daughter, and I went to a restaurant. On the way out, we noticed this claw machine and it seemed to be calling to us. Both my daughter and husband used their own spending or fun money to take a turn, but I didn't have my own dollar. We noticed a credit card slot, so I used me debit card instead, but had to play $5 because that was the minimum amount. So, I took three turns and my husband and my daughter each had another turn. My daughter saw a lava lamp plushy she thought was really cute and wanted to get it for her sister, so she tried and it slipped through those rounded edges of the claw that don't seem to grasp tightly no matter how well you line it up.
So, I swiped another $5, and again I took three turns because it was out of my fun money and then the other two took their turns because I wanted to share the joy of this experience. My mother's heart thought about how my daughter thought of her sister and how we could eventually get that lava lamp plushy and with each turn, we were moving it closer. I also noticed a little plastic ring with the tag that we could catch, and I was betting we could get that lava lamp. We were enjoying the experience as we cheered each other on and our adrenaline was going. We were having FUN! Nothing was more fun than the absurdity of mom swiping her debit card over and over to get that lava lamp. I couldn't believe I was doing this as I am such a frugal person and we were up to $25 on this stuffed plushy toy which I could've probably bought for $5 at the store. However, it was worth it as I wasn't paying for the lava lamp; I was paying for the moment...the moment of enjoyment with my daughter and my husband. They also continued to add their loose dollars too! This enjoyment was worth the investment!
Finally, we were able to hook that little plastic ring as I suspected, and it was hanging there about to drop into the slot, but it didn't drop! Apparently, we did so well that the tag was stuck on the screw of the claw. We tried reaching in and grabbing it off of the hook, but we couldn't reach it because of the way the door slanted. At this point, I am determined to get that plushy for my daughter, who is 22 by the way, so I asked the waitress, but she didn't have access to it and wished she could help. I wasn't about to go home without a fight, and I thought for sure we were going to get that lava lamp. As it was stuck and dangling, just out of reach, I knew that what wasn't out of reach was this beautiful time of 20- 40 minutes (not exactly sure how long as I lost track of the time) with my family. This intentional fun with my family was what I paid for. It wasn't about the lava lamp alone.
Although I can report that my daughter did actually get the lava lamp. She discovered a way she could bank it off of the plastic rim that cordons off the shoot from the stuffed animals and maybe loosen it from the screw. We thought it was a great idea, but it wasn't working. I even got a picture of it! At this point, we felt like we should accept defeat as we were already $37 in on a silly stuffed plush lava lamp! Unexpectedly, I went ahead and swiped that card one more time, and we were all laughing at me doing something so out of character; however, we felt this was a wise investment for the fun we were having! At this point, it was for the purpose of seeing the wrongs, righted and a mission to take this lava lamp home for my daughter. So, she banked it off of the corner this time and it came through the shoot! I don't think there was ever a happier moment in that restaurant in all of its history. At that point, not only were we invested in that moment, but the waitress was there and the people who stood waiting in line were invested, and there was even a person or two who were hoping we would fail, so they could take a turn at it!
We paid $43 for a silly stuffed plushy, but it really wasn't silly at all; it was a lava lamp for my daughter; it was embracing of the moment; it was a memory that we invested in; and that's why I did it! Because of this experience, we know the fun of setting goals together and going for them! We're also not going to forget it! We will remember having this great time together and look back fondly on this memory and the videos taken. We will also remember how connected we felt towards a common goal with joy.
If you want to see how we finally got that lava lamp plushy, hop over to our Instagram and Facebook social media pages for FUN!
Cultivate Fun, Joy, and Be in the Present Moment! Thrive, Enjoy, Embrace!
Life is more than monetary costs, and there is also a cost to not having fun and enjoying it! Sometimes, we just need to do some things to lighten it up as life can have some tense moments, but we can cultivate good moments that may happen naturally or we can intentionally add them into our day. God is a giver of abundance so if you don't have some extra spending money, save up for it with intention or do something else fun that doesn't need money. There are always going to be "buts," and excuses, but what if we just embrace it!
My challenge is to see what can you embrace today! Is it buying a special candy that reminds you of your youth or listening to an old song you love while singing it at the top of your lungs with the windows down. No matter what's going on, stop at the claw machine and get your lava lamp plushy, get that extra dessert to share with someone, or enjoy doing something extra for just you even if it's against your typical self and cultivate joy!
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