It is always a good thing to have something which can keep you busy, to occupy your time, to distract your mind from places that it should not wander, to keep you from doing things you should not do, to help keep you focused, to help you lead an interesting life (I prefer an interesting life despite it being a curse at times), to keep your mind active, to keep your soul at peace, and to show your children that there really is something besides just hanging out with friends, sending instant messages to friends on the Internet, and MTV.
What I am talking about are chores, hobbies and other such pursuits. getting your kids interested in doing chores (not an easy task), and getting them interested in hobbies (sometimes an easier task), and getting them interested in other pursuits, say like sports is a good thing. I am not big into athletic sports, especially not spectator athletic sports; and I am not really talking about them at all. When I say sports I mean things in which you or your kids participate. I got both of my children into athletic sports at an early age. My daughter, now 21, roller blades for exercise and for stress relief. That is a good thing. I wish she did some more, but it is okay. My son is into roller hockey. Only seasonal but that is okay too.
I also got my kids involved in shooting. This is a sport, though not necessarily athletic. Please do not confuse athletic sports versus sports in general. While athletic sports include the obvious sports like swimming, baseball, soccer, football, hockey, running, weight training, judo and so forth; non-athletic sports include such things as poker playing, horse racing (non-athletic for us as opposed to the horses), falconry, hunting, fishing (though these last two can be quite the test of your athletic endurance) and shooting, among others. There are plenty of things you can do to occupy your time and the time of your children. It helps keep folks active, and out of trouble when taught correctly by parents, and even more so when the parent regularly participates with the children.
Other things that are great time fillers are hobbies. Things like stamp collecting, coin collecting, treasure hunting with a metal detector, hiking, camping, photography, gardening, model building, writing, reading, wood carving, collecting in general, pet keeping, and so forth. Many of these are things that can be done alone, or by more than one person at once. The ones that can be done on a solo basis are great for parents, their kids, or other adults when they need some down time to relax but don't want to be just lazy. I recommend highly that each and everyone of you go out and get yourselves something to fill your down time.
I have been giving more of my down time to things like this lately. They have made me relax better, made me be uptight less, and have been an overall enjoyment to me. For example, yesterday and today I worked out in the garden. It was kind of dull work, but basic work, and was enjoyable just to keep busy and to do it alone. Later today I did some work on my pets. I keep reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals. My son is somewhat into this too, though not as much as me, though my guess is that when he is an adult he will delve into it much more. Even though I worked at cleaning all the tanks yesterday, today I decided to do more. I took an old terrarium, one which I had neglected for awhile (only plants in it), and decided to spruce it up. I tore out old dying plants, turned the soil, added composted soil from my compost pile, added some red worms and earthworms, replanted some of the old plants into it, and also put some new ones into it. Total cost of this was zero as I used only things on hand, including plants from my backyard. Then I enjoyed another hobby; I wrote about it here. I tend to combine my hobbies, and am not really a master at many of them, but I sort of enjoy being a jack of all trades or should I say hobbies.
I feel good about having done these things today. They may not be much in the scope of things, but they kept me busy throughout my morning and early afternoon. Now I can laze about at the computer, blogging, and enjoying a glass of wine. I feel even better when I see one of my kids doing something that interests them. Another day in Paradise; yes it most definitely is just that.
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