You Really Need to Get a Hobby

I have never been one for "hobbies".  It's not that I don't think they are valuable or that they are silly or anything, quite the contrary, it's just that at an age when I should have been developing hobbies...my biggest hobby was...drinking.  In fact, Dictionary.com defines hobby this way...

hob·by

1. an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation.

 

...and when you put it that way, I guess drinking was my hobby.  I pursued it for pleasure and relaxation and until right up until the end, it wasn't my main occupation.  I remember when I used to fill out questionnaires or applications and they asked for hobbies and I didn't have any.  I always wrote something like "I enjoy going out to dinner with my husband and relaxing in Annapolis."  Translation - I like to go out to dinner and drink myself stupid.

Then when the kids were little...well...they were my hobby.  My world revolved around their needs, wants and hobbies so I built huge contraptions out of Legos, played Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, was team mom and kept the book in Little League, and anything else that interested them.  It was fun and I miss it.

Now that I see myself left with some actual free time on my hands, I'm wondering if I should take up a hobby and what it should be.  Belle over at Tired of Thinking About Drinking has some photography assignments she's handing out which has resulted in some really cool photos.  My friend Riversurfer over at Rockdweller's Blog takes some really gorgeous photos with just her iPhone (she posts them on her site if you want to take a look) and regularly blows me away.  Maybe photography?

I never would have admitted it in my former life but I'm fairly crafty and I like it.  I'm always out on Pinterest or Martha Stewart or whatever, looking for cool crafts I can make or learn to make or...whatever.  I might take up scrap booking but holy hell, those women get addicted to it and God knows I don't need anything else to become addicted to...especially not anything that costs as much as scrap booking does.

I do crochet.  My grandmother taught me when I was about 12 and I'm pretty good.  But you can only do that so much before you are sick to death of it and you need to move on to something else.  It's the something else I need to find.  Plus, all of my friends already have scarfs, mittens, afghans and anything else you can make out of yarn.  They're as sick of it as I am.

I enjoy doing those painting classes at those drink & draw studios.  I don't do the drinking part anymore but they are still a hoot and I've gotten some pretty good artwork and gifts out of my efforts.  Jewelry making is also something cool and something I might be good at but it can also be pricey and I need to be careful about money right now.  Three boys in college at one time = no disposable income for the foreseeable future.

I also tend to take up these things, get bored and move on pretty quickly.  I'd hate to sink a shitload of money into something only to put it all away in 60 days when I'm bored and looking for my next avenue o'fun.  Not that I've ever done anything like that mind you...not at all...never...

Mainly I like watching TV, painting my nails, baking, yoga...wait...yawn...okay, I'm back now.  I also enjoy redecorating my house and I want to learn to paint cabinets and tile floors and walls.  Maybe I'll head over to Home Depot and participate in one of their workshops...or maybe I'll start with the local community college and see what they are offering and start there...

It's kind of cool that I have all of these options.  Options I would have never had if I were still drinking.  Yay me!

Namaste