Play Is Not A Luxury

We explore how play, fun, and simple novelty reduce stress and keep the Wheel of Life rolling. From 30‑second breathing resets to lowering the bar for what counts as fun, we show practical ways to add joy without adding pressure.

• belly breathing and cupping eyes to calm fast
• quiet evenings and sleep as stress reset
• reframing what you cannot change
• the play spoke: schedule and spontaneity
• indoor fun: coloring, reading, simple games
• novelty through route changes and routine flips
• walks, hikes, and shared discovery
• baking, higher‑protein treats, and gamifying chores
• casual gatherings over picture‑perfect plans
• building a personal fun list by time blocks

If you gained anything from this episode, we would love for you to like it
Share it with someone who you know needs a little more fun and play in their life

And until next time, keep your wheel rolling smooth

Wheel of Life Worksheet

Dx2podcast.com

Transcript

Welcome & Today’s Focus On Fun

Debra 0:04

Welcome to the D Times 2 podcast, hosted by Sisters Denise and Debra. We are all about finding balance in the various parts of life. Using the Wheel of Life as our guide, we explore how to keep each spoke rolling smoothly. We discuss health and wellness, education and spirituality, as well as mental and emotional growth. Join us for real conversations, practical tips, and a few laughs as we share stories, insights, and strategies to help you create a life that feels balanced, purposeful, and designed by you. Good morning, Debra. Good morning, Denise. Good to see you today. You too. Things going well? Yeah, have you been up to anything fun? Oh, she's thinking way too long. Yeah, I don't fun? Not not anything out of the ordinary. Okay. I asked because we're gonna talk about that today. I wondered if you have done, had had any fun lately. Well, I've ha well, I guess. I went to a little kid basketball game on Saturday. Oh yeah. How'd that go? Those are always fun to watch. They're fun to watch. They've gotten way better over the season. They're they are six-year-olds. Uh-huh. And it's fun to watch them actually dribble all the way down the court instead of carry the ball halfway down the court and play. And they've learned how to pass better. And it's been that's fun. Yeah, that's fun to watch. So yeah, I have done something fun. Good for you. Before we get into our topic for today, we do have a question from a listener. They want to know good ways to calm yourself when you have too many stressors going on. She didn't specify what type of stressors, just too much to I'm I just I in my mind I'm visualizing arrows coming from all direction all directions. So all different types of stressors. Yeah. She didn't specify. Okay. So we've talked about this type of thing a few times in some of our other episodes. But one of the very best ways to immediately calm yourself is to breathe. Thank you for saying that. Breathe from the belly specifically. Because you might not even be able to remove yourself from the stressful situation or whatever the stressor is. But you can always breathe. You are always breathing. True. So if you just are deliberate about it and deliberately take a couple of belly breaths, and like as I'm saying that my hand is on my belly, just that physiological contact of putting the hand there, connecting the mind with the body, and then the doing the breathing can help settle the nervous system, which makes the stressors feel less. They don't go away, but you can deal with them better. Well, because guess what? What? In life, we always have stressors. We do. And sometimes it can just feel like too much or too many or one that's too big. So we have to figure out how to deal with it. I like that you said breathing because you are always breathing. We have to. And we can control that. And it really is like there's a lot of science that backs that up. So deep belly breathing, nice and slow in, hold nice and slow out a couple of times, will calm you down in less than 30 seconds. Yeah. Yeah. Another tool that you can use is that I I've done a few times. You can't always do it, but if you can, it's almost a sense of putting yourself in sensory deprivation tank. Okay, because those completely settle everything down. But if you take your eyes, your your your eyes, take your hands and cup them over your eyes to where it is black. You can't see anything there. You're completely depriving one of your senses and then breathe through it. That works a little bit more accelerated than just breathing. That's good to know. I didn't know that one. Yeah. It's cup, cup, like till it's black and just hold it. It also, like, just because like we're looking at screens all the time, the light all the time, eye strain is a real thing, it's a stress. It takes away all of the eye strain. Nice. But just with how it settles the nervous system coupled together with the breathing, it can work a little more powerfully than just breathing. But if you're driving, you can't do that. No, you cannot. If you're having a conversation with somebody, it looks a little bit weird. Just cuff your eyes. You just can't always do that. You can always breathe. Yeah. I like that. I think one other thing to do is to if you're under some chronic stress that is just won't go away and you can't deal with it very well, is to just take some quiet time and be quiet. Like not listen to anything.

unknown 5:05

Yeah.

Introducing The Play Spoke

Debra 5:06

Don't talk to anyone. Yeah. Like when you go to bed is a great time because when you're asleep, your brain is working. And if we can calm our physical body down a little bit before we go to sleep, then our brain works things out and we can deal with life better. So again, breathing. You can lay in your bed and take some nice deep breaths, and that it does help calm your body or hold your breath for as long as you can. It does help calm your body. And none of these things take the stress away. No. But they do help you be able to cope better with it. If you need more on that, too, go back to our sleep episode because we got into more depth on those at bedtime calming routines. One more thing I'm going to say that has nothing to do with breathing is evaluating what you're stressing about and what the stressors are in your life. If they're stressors that you can't do anything about, then use your mind to get rid of them. To say, you know what, I can't do anything about this. It's going to go on whether or not I like it, and I can't do anything about it changing it. So I will do what I can with myself and move on to things that you can handle, that you can change. So it's almost the water off a duck's back principle. Like just let it roll off because don't absorb it, because you can't do anything about it. That ties with the last thing I was going to say, which is just do a couple second mental reframe, like shift the perspective of it. Because if you can't do anything about it, then you can't do anything about it. Let it go. Like let it go. Don't let it eat you alive or weigh on you. But if you can do something about it, take power in that and be proactive about it. Yeah. Hopefully that helps that person with the question. Those are some good things. Yeah. Some of the simplest available to all things. Yeah. Yeah. That would that will help with that. They're all free. There's so much free goodness out in the world. So one thing that can help you deal with stress we're going to talk about today. And that is the spoke on the wheel that we call fun or play or recreation. It's one of my most favorite spokes. You do like this. Debra likes to have a good time and play. I do. Especially in the summer. Yeah. Okay. Have you played lately? I played by watching a basketball game. Little kids. That to me is play because it's so funny to watch. Have you played lately? Or do you feel like you can play and not feel guilty about it? Oh, I feel like I can play and not feel guilty about it. I don't because I don't generally feel guilty about it. Okay. Because I'm responsible enough. If I'm supposed to be at work, I'm at work.

unknown 8:05

That's good.

Scheduling Versus Spontaneous Play

Indoor Play: Coloring, Reading, Phone Games

Debra 8:06

If I have things I'm supposed to be doing, I I get it done. But then I have time also that can be playtime. I will say, as unfortunate as this sounds, I do let weather dictate how much I play because I like to play outside. There are things I do for play inside, but I prefer outside. I want there to be sunshine and I want there to be warmth and I want there to be no wind. That's like my magical trifecta. That's funny because you live in a place where six months out of the year it's cold and windy and the sun doesn't shine. Like five out of seven days are windy. It's ridiculous. Yes. But most of the time I can overlook one or two of them. I have been, I'm gonna say, playing in the form of coloring lately. Nice. I got some fancy markers, and I got a very tropical themed adult coloring book. So that's good. It's a form of play for me. It takes me back to something I used to do when I was a kid, but it's in adult form. And while I'm coloring the beautiful tropical plants, I go away in my mind to those tropical islands, and it feels like I'm truly having a great time. Good. So it's also relaxing to me. That's good. Do you think that you need to schedule play? I think so. I think it is good to have it on the calendar. Like in the summertime, when you and I are playing pickleball, it's on my calendar. Nothing takes precedence. Well, very few things will take precedence over playing pickleball in the summer. Like there are times I deliberately put it on the schedule. And for me, it gives me something to look forward to. Just like I have a trip plan that's in 46 days. It's been on the calendar for a while. It gives me something to look forward to. I'm not doing it right now, but it's like gives me excitement for future. Awesome. I like that. So scheduling play is good. We schedule things in our lives. But we don't have to schedule it. We can have spontaneous play. For sure. We should have spontaneous play. Oh, for sure. Yeah. I would venture to guess that most people don't do spontaneous play. So if we think of just the word play, and we're gonna say play most of the time, but it's fun, it's different, it's recreation, it's just something like it can be, oh, a good song just came on the radio. I'm gonna dance. That's play. Never beat a dead horse. That saying has been around for a long time for a reason. People that are drinking energy drinks all day long just to stay functional, that's what they're doing. They are beating themselves up like they were a dead horse. We gotta stop doing that. The only energy drink that I recommend to my clients is update. It's clean energy without caffeine, so you don't have jitters and chaos and like the problems that caffeine causes in the body. And it also helps to give you focus and a clear mind. It's really the one I use and the one I recommend. To get a discount off of your order, go to drinkupdate.com and use the code DX2. That's D times two. That's us. So drinkupdate.com and then the code for your discount is DX2. We work, we have chores, we have a life, responsibilities, responsibilities. We're talking about things outside of those things. So scheduling is good. If you just look at your life, and if you're not having those fun times, those play times, those not those times outside of your normal responsibilities, maybe take a look at scheduling some of those things and planning some things so that you can look forward to it. Yeah. It makes your brain happy when you do that. When you play. It does. I I don't love admitting this, but one of the play forms of play I've also been doing lately is a game on my phone. It's a game, so it's play. There's a little bit of strategy involved. I don't love being in my phone.

Speaker 1 12:27

Yeah.

Debra 12:28

But if it wasn't gray and gloomy and cold and windy, I wouldn't be in my phone. So it's like don't get lost in it. And I usually have a time allotment. So it's I don't just get stuck there. You're not sucked in there, and two hours later you're Yeah. But I have been playing a game on my phone that I enjoy that Tom introduced me to, so then we have something in common that we talk about. And he likes to tell me how to win this level or that level and that kind of thing. So it has added to some of that play together. Nice. I like that. You can read for play. Oh, yes, I do that. You can that's just part of life to me, but yes, that's enjoyment. So for me, I have been working on reading more. I enjoy reading. But it's not something I default to. So I have a book I really enjoy. And so I've been changing my nighttime habit to reading my book for 15, 20 minutes instead of scrolling through Instagram or the news. Yes. It's super bad to do at my time. That's something that I have scheduled into my day that is kind of a play for me. It's something I I enjoy that I don't I haven't in the past defaulted to for something fun to do. Yeah. So it doesn't have to be outside, it doesn't have to be this physical seeing play can also be, like Debra said, coloring. It can be doing a puzzle. It can be doing a puzzle. I really enjoy doing puzzles. And kids aren't home, so I don't get to do them very much unless the grandkids are over and then we do little kid puzzles. But it's good to make sure that you're doing it playing a little bit. Not working. Not doing responsibilities, but you get to do something a little bit fun. Yeah, sometimes child rather than adult. Yeah. Yeah, I like that. But even just shifting some of those dopamine hits that come to your brain, like just doing something in a different way. Yeah, so that is also a form of play. Changing up your routine. Take a different way home. So I came over here this morning and I take a different route every time I come here. I don't know if you know that.

Speaker 1 14:48

I did not know that.

Change Your Routine As Play

Debra 14:48

There are many a a route that bring me here, and some are faster than others. But I take I take a different route every time. So there's a thing, take the long way home. Yeah. Yeah. Take a different route. If you're going to work, take a different route. If you're coming home, take a different route. If you're running errands, take a different route. That actually is really good for your brain, and it's kind of gets you out of a rut. And you'll be surprised at the different things that you see. Yeah. That is actually a form of play. We're going to talk about that. So if you're doing the dishes, do them a different way. If you're vacuuming the floor, vacuum it in a different order. Put the dishes in the opposite sink from where you usually start them. Throw like just the whole routine gets shifted up. Yeah. Yeah. Just do something different for your brain. It's it's really good for you. So one of my things I shifted lately was I've been making kefir, milk kefir for a long time. I switched to making water kefir. Nice. So it's a little bit of a different process. A little just different. Different taste, different end result. I shared some with the parents last night when they came over for dinner and they said, mmm, this is good. I'm so glad you got that response. I don't always get that one with my water kefir. No, it was delicious. That's fun. So just doing something a little different. Same thing you always do, but in a different way. That actually that actually counts as play for your brain. For your brain. Yeah. Put your shirt on before your pants. Oh, different order. You said differently. Yeah, that's true. That's true. Some things have to go in the same order, right? You have to put your socks on before you put your pants on. Oh, do you? Because my husband doesn't. Because otherwise you have to pull your pants off and it's a whole mess. Yeah. Switch, switch what's foot, switch which foot you put in your sock first. Yeah.

unknown 16:45

All right.

Walks, New Routes, And Shared Discovery

Build A Personal Fun List

Baking, Higher-Protein Treats, And Gamifying

Debra 16:46

Just change it. It changes things up in your brain and as he said as play. Yeah, that's good. One of the most toxic things that people do is color their hair. And my hand is up. I am guilty of this. I love to play with my hair color. I have for years. And now I love to cover my grays. The best non-toxic hair color that I have found is polar hair care. It is easy, it applies like a shampoo. You only have to leave it on for 10 minutes. It lasts for about six weeks, and it doesn't have any of the harsh chemicals and all the nasty stuff in it. Plus, it's infused with Rishi, macadamia, jojoba oil. So it leaves my hair feeling better and not dried out and abused. Use the code Debra 6334. That's my name, D-E-B-R-A 6334. So if you go to polarhaircare.com slash Debra 6334, you'll get an awesome discount off your order. So play isn't always playing on the playground or like something that we typically think of as fun. It can be simple, it can be just doing something different. I did a little bit of play with Tom yesterday. He wanted to take a walk with me. Nice. It was a beautiful day yesterday. It was beautiful. The sun was shining, clear blue sky. We went in the morning, so there was still frost on the grass. It was so nice. And I said, Can I take you on my new route? And he made me describe the route to him before he committed. And there's I love it because there's so many different segments of things to see. And part of it is at the airport with the little planes. And I like to look at the planes. And he was, we got back and he said, That's the coolest walk I've been on in a long time. We got to see this and we got to see this and we got to see this. And to him it was all new. But I've been doing the same walk every day for a while, but I still enjoy it. Well, so you got to play by showing somebody else, and he got to play by seeing some new things. That's awesome. I like that. Yeah. And it was just a walk from our front door. My walk is not as varied as that, but I live in a neighborhood, so it's a little bit different. Nothing super close to me. Just a school and a neighborhood. Sometimes I go backwards in my room. And then your whole day is top turn, topsy turvy. Okay. What's another way that we can play? So we can make a list of fun things. So everyone's heard of a bucket list. Why not make a fun list? Simple things that you can do for fun when if you have a free second, free minute, free half hour, you choose something from the fun list and do that. So what would be on your fun list? Is it a minute? Is it three minutes? Is it a half hour? Anything? Anything. Okay, so one of my fun things is to dance. I think I've mentioned that a time or two. So I would literally put on my dancing shoes and find something fun to dance to. Just all by myself, inside my house, not outside my house. Inside my house. Another fun thing for me would be to we, I mean, we already talked about reading, but I love to read and I have a stack of books. So I would pick up from a new book and start a new book. My thing is with that, I have to have a time limit. That's why I was asking for time parameters because it's easy for me to just read the whole book. You do get lost in your books. I love, love reading. And I don't care if it's a novel or a business book or a like whatever the case may be, I love to do it. But right now I have a like a stack of books that are waiting to be dived into. And when I dive in, I will dive. Yeah. So you need a rainy afternoon. No. No. Okay, never mind. I'll do them at bedtime. Oh, I can do them at bedtime. Then you have a time limit because you get tired and you can that's usually my self-limiting time. My eyelids get heavy and I'm like, okay, I'm done. It's time for sleep. So something that's on my fun list that I really enjoy doing that I you know what over the last year I really haven't done that much. And I'm hoping that it's different this year. Hoping, planning. Let's let's reword that. I'm planning that it will be different this year. Okay, tell. Hiking. Oh. I didn't go on very many hikes last year. I didn't either. And it made me really sad at the end of the year. I was like, I think I went on maybe two hikes all year long. But I love being outside in the mountains. We have beautiful mountains around us. Yes. And I love being out there. And that's something my husband and I actually like to do together. I was gonna say, you like to hike and I like to hike, but we almost never hike together. I don't think we ever have. But this past year or two, I didn't hike nearly as much. So hiking is on my fun list and there are some hikes that we like to do every year and we didn't even get to do them last year. So But you're a fair weather hiker, right? You don't like to go when there's snow on the ground, or do you? It depends on which hike we do. There's one that if there's some snow on the ground, it's okay because it's a straight trail, it's in and out, and I'm not gonna get lost. I don't really want to hike in the rain. I don't mind if it's cloudy, but I don't want to be out in the rain in the mountains. That's not really cool when the lightning strikes. Anyway, so hiking is something that's on my fun list. Something else that's on my fun list is baking. I like to bake things. I like to bake new desserts. I don't necessarily like to eat them all, so I have to have a plan for them. Yeah. But I really enjoy baking, and then the smells that are in my house after I bake, I just love. So that's something on my fun list. Do you have anything like baking-wise that you're working on? Like me last year, I was trying to perfect baking bread. I'm great at baking desserts, but I wanted to master bread. Yes, actually, something that I've been I haven't done yet, but it is on my fun list, is making higher protein desserts. Okay. So I've seen a lot of those, and I'm trying not to eat high carb desserts. Well, and if you make a higher protein one, it at least buffers out the carbs. Yes. So I want to make, you know, this high protein gooey brownie I keep seeing, and like that's on my fun list to make some of those so that if I feel like I want to treat, I can have it. It's not gonna destroy, destroy all the good things that I've done for the rest of the day. A couple of years ago, I wanted to perfect making cakes and decorating cakes. And I gamified it and had a couple of cake competitions with mom. Oh. And then our dinner guests would judge the winning the winning cake by appearance and also by flavor. Guess who is the winner? You. Yes. You're a little more adventurous in that area than mom is. Yeah. Mom's kind of a traditional kind of, she has for things that she likes to make and she's good at. And if I'm following a recipe, I'll see it really as a suggestion because I'll see it and in intuitively I can say, oh, this would make it better. So I'm terrible at passing along my recipes because most of it's just in my heart and in my head. Not on paper. Yeah. Or in the computer. Well, that's fun. Yeah, it was fun. Cool. It was play. Very good. Let's talk about colostrum. It is a hot topic in the world these days. We're gonna talk about Equip Foods Core Colostrum. Each scoop contains three grams of grass-fed, pasture-raised, antibiotic-free colostrum, where most on the market only contain one gram. Colostrum is a nutritional powerhouse that has been shown and proven to enhance immune function, gut health, and recovery with vital nutrients. So what exactly is it? Colostrum, also known as first milk, is produced immediately following a newborn birth. It is vital nutrition, providing all the nutrients and fluid a newborn needs in their early days. It also applies to all people. We all need that nutrition. Equip foods core colostrum is a type A1 and A2 milk, which is the highest tier milk you can get. Also, while chloricolostrum is a dairy product, it does not contain milk or lactose. So most people with lactose intolerance usually find colostrum very digestible and beneficial to gut health. Now I know you're wondering how you use it. It's so easy. You just need one scoop per day, and you can add it into tea or coffee, you can add it to a protein shake or to yogurt, or you can even add it into your favorite baked goods. It's also cost effective. So it's core colostrum is about 51 cents per serving compared to 91 cents per serving or more on for competitors. So if you go to equipfoods.com and use the promo code D times2 or DX2, you'll get a great discount. So let's talk about that gamifying. You said you gamify bakings. What are some other things that we can gamify? Things that we do on a normal basis to turn into more of a game and more make it more fun. Who can fold the clothes the fastest? Oh I've done that with my husband. Do you win? No, he wins because he is so fast, but I am very tidy. I was gonna say it depends. Well, what's he finishes first, but mine don't have to be refolded.

Speaker 1 27:03

That's the same thing in my house.

Make Chores Fun For Adults And Kids

Debra 27:05

My husband will help fold the clothes and I just have to refold them so that they fit in the drawers properly. They have to fit in the drawers properly. If they're not folded right, they won't. Yes. That's a good example. They're chores. We're doing them all the time. You might as well make them fun. Vacuuming the house or cleaning the car or mowing the lawn or doing your hair. Put on some music or put on a book or put on a podcast. Like I I was our lawn mower last year. And I had my headphones on every time. And I didn't mind mowing the lawn a bit. I would mow it two directions. I would do all the edging because what I was listening to was keeping me like I was engaged with, and so it made the whole experience fun. I do the same thing when I'm cleaning house. Mm-hmm. Me too. Put on a good podcast or some good music. And then it's not just drudgery cleaning the house. It's you're getting something good while you're doing it. It makes it fun, makes it enjoyable. Usually I'll end up going for longer because I did that. Like I'll say I'm gonna just clean the kitchen, but then I clean the kitchen and wipe the walls and white, you know, I'll do more because I'm also enjoying myself because of what else is going on. You and I live in similar circumstances. It's just us and our husbands. So if you have other people in the house, like little people, you can make it a game for them as well. I used to try to do that with my kids, and sometimes they were game for it and sometimes they weren't. But if there's a chore and you've got little kids, you can you can try to make a game out of it, see who can do it the fastest. And then just remember that they're little kids helping it. It's not gonna be what you wanted, but they were helping. They were helping it was fun for them, and it's a good memory, not you didn't do this, and they're gonna be learning how to do the things. Yes. Make it fun, and then they'll help you with your chores more. Yeah. I've done I've gamified doing chores with my grandkids. And it's they're more willing to help, right? They're more willing to help. It it does make it more fun. And it's not the I'll time you.

unknown 29:18

Yeah.

Lower The Bar: Simple, Casual Gatherings

Debra 29:19

The I'll time you while you trick. We used to do that. It worked out quite well for my children. They catch on though. Yeah, they didn't seem to mind. There was enough competition between them that they're like, I'm gonna do this faster than you. Okay. I guess, yeah. So that's another way to make something every day that could be mundane fun. It doesn't have to just be I'm playing. It can just be fun. Finding finding joy in the journey. Part of it is considering it a lower bar for what fun is. What do you mean? Fun doesn't always have to look like I'm going to the river to paddleboard for three hours. It can be I'm gonna listen to this book while I do the dishes. That's a much lower bar for me. But it's still fun. How about if you're getting together with people? Good good example. Because I'm gonna say with what we see on Pinterest and social media and everything, if you're getting together with people, you might have a caterer, you're gonna have decorations, there's gonna be games involved. And it doesn't have to. It can just be, hey, you want to come over, we're having pizza. Wait a minute. And you get together and it's casual and easy, or hey, we're gonna turn on the grill. You wanna come over, bring something to throw on the grill, and then you sit and visit or kick around a ball in the backyard or whatever. It can just be visiting, it can be spontaneous charades while you're having people together. Like it doesn't have to be elaborate. I guess that's that's the thing. It doesn't have to be elaborate, it can be very, very simple. Yeah, I think that that the more effort you put into making whatever fun you're having picture perfect, the less fun it actually is. You stress before about it being just right, and then maybe not enjoy the process as much because of what you've been stressing about. Does that make sense? Yeah, it makes sense. And I think all that's for you as putting on the the fun, the event, the dinner, the party, whatever it may be. But also for guests, if they're coming and they know it's casual, they will be more casual and let their guard down more than if it's a more formal put on event, they'll be more stuffy. Yeah, they'll be less relaxed. So you can get a more authentic engagement with somebody. Yeah. Well said, very well said, yes. So lower the bar for what your fun, what your expectation of fun looks like. You're not living an Instagram or Pinterest or Facebook life, you're living your own life. Even those people aren't. Because if you see the rest of the story, that's the real story. Yeah, no one has a Pinterest perfect or Instagram photo worthy life all the time. Those are moments. Yes, moments. I'm just thinking, even when we had family come here for holidays, and I took two of the girls, granddaughters, for a walk. We were gone for hours because we were talking and we were exploring and we were cartwheeling and looking at all the things. We walked down the street, we walked through a park, we walked along the river, like, and it was fun. That's when I learned I was the fun grandma because I did something with them, and all we did was take a walk.

Speaker 1 32:57

Yeah.

Debra 32:58

So some of it is just spending time and being invested with the people that you're with. Yeah, that's true. Will lead to fun. And as you said, those authentic connections. I took all of our kids and grandchildren to an Airbnb when our youngest son was getting married. You had house fall. Yep. There were 15 of us, 16, 16 of us in a house all together. It was quite fun. For a week. For a week, yes. And of some of the most fun we had was just spontaneous fun. Yeah. They had a game room, we went up and played, and we played they played Duck Duck Goose. We played and we did the hokey pokey, and like we just went up and just danced and had a good time. And they loved that. Fun doesn't have to be scheduled. If you're not having fun, then you probably should schedule some fun until it becomes part of your life. Yeah. Lower your expectations for what it it needs to look like. Preconceived notions of fun don't turn out to be fun generally. I'm gonna say an actively look for those moments where you can just ig inject a little bit of fun. Everyday mundane things can be fun if you change your perspective and change your routine and add some music or a podcast or add some children into the mix, involve your kids and make it fun for them so they'd see that ordinary life can be a good time. Yeah. And they're not just looking to be entertained. Yeah. Fun, play, recreation. It's a wheel, it's a spoke on the wheel of life that can be planned, but doesn't have to be, but it should be part of your life. But it's important to bel like to understand it's a whole spoke. It is a whole spoke. And but it's that important. Yes. And it looks different for everybody. Yes. As we have shared different things that we like, that we find fun and different ways that we make everyday things. You have to translate it to your life. Because we're all different interests, different hobbies. I find stuff to do inside when I have to. Yes, she does. But it's just different for different people. Yeah. So make it look like your own. Make it simple, casual, and make a fun list. That's I I really like that suggestion. Yeah. Yeah. I'm gonna do that for the next six months. I have kids coming, moving home to live with us for like 10 months. And so I'm gonna plan some fun things to do with them so that they can enjoy their time while they're here. And it's not just sharing a house with their grandma. Yeah, that will be awesome.

unknown 35:42

Yeah.

Spontaneous Family Fun And Authentic Connection

Debra 35:43

Okay, so I think that's good. If you gained anything from this episode, we would love for you to like it. Share it with someone who you know needs a little more fun and play in their life. And in our show notes, we have a link to lots of things that we share on our episodes. We have freebies and discount codes for things we love, different resources. So click on our website or go to our website. It's dtimes2.compodcast.com or dx2podcast.com. There are lots of things there for you. And until next time, keep your wheel rolling smooth. Thanks for listening to the D Times2 Podcast with Denise and Debra. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Be sure to subscribe and share it with someone who's ready to roll toward a more balanced life. Your support means the world to us. And just a quick note we're sharing our own experiences and ideas, not professional advice. Always do your own research and talk to a qualified expert before making big decisions. Until next time, keep your wheel rolling strong.