Five minute Friday: Play

What comes to mind when I think about play?

Thinking about playing, brings up old and new memories from childhood and from my current family. Growing up, my dad and an elderly man played a game of Mancala most Saturday mornings. While playing, they talked about politics and life in general. Looking back, I now realize the old man was a mentor to my dad. What I remember most was the loud laughter as the old man won the game every time and taunted my dad. The old man was excellent at the game of Mancala so my siblings and I nicked named him, “Baba Alayo Ika” (extraordinary and wickedly good at the game). My dad and his friend enjoyed playing this game.

Growing up, play and summer were synonymous just like peanut butter and jelly. My siblings and I enjoyed playing outside with other kids in the neighborhood. We would play soccer, hide and seek, ten-ten and ring around the roses. Oh, those summer days were so much fun! We could not wait to go out and play as we rushed to finish our chores. We made up our own games and rules.  Most of the time we did not have a soccer ball, but we created one out of whatever materials we could find in the trash or around the house. We would roll up grocery bags and old clothes and tie them up to make a ball. These times of playing with neighborhood kids in the streets were filled with fun and laughter with an occasional sadness if someone got hurt.

Transitioning to my current family, as my children have gotten older, playing is usually around the holidays. When the children come home, we sit around the table, share meals and remember old times. The best time is when the children play a card game. It is usually fun to see them laughing and sharing precious moments together. This makes me happy.

As I am growing older, I would love to incorporate more play into my life. Playing is refreshing because it makes people interact and bond together.

And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets.  (Zechariah 8:5)

This post is written for the Five Minute Friday Writing Community. The writing prompt this week, is PLAY.  We are all  writing for five minutes using this prompt. Come join us! http://fiveminutefriday.com/2017/07/06/link-up-play/