Water Fight! Water Fight!

I bet your inner child would love to have one-Go for it!

A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men. ~ Roald Dahl

Water Fight

Last weekend my family rented a house and had a mini-family reunion with about sixteen people. There were four cousins that had the time of their lives with some tiny squirt guns. They ran throughout the property squirting each other and anyone else that got in the way.

There were four cousins and only three small squirt guns. There was a lot of strategizing and carrying on as the squirt guns changed hands, alliances were formed, and the power shifted between them.

This went on for so long that on occasion a cousin would forget about the battle and accidentally set their squirt gun down. At that point, the other three would make a mad dash, what I would call a tangled scramble, and take possession of the unattended squirt gun. Then, the madness was back on in full force. At one point, one cousin had all three squirt guns. That is when the water balloons broke out.

Oh, did I mention all of these cousins are over the age of thirty? Two were even over the age of forty.

There was something about being back together with the same cousins that played together as kids, playing again. Their parents were there trying to settle them down. The entire scene was just like old times. A good time was had by all.

If you are wondering if I am one of the cousins, I am not. I stayed out of it for the most part. I only intervened when one cousin (my husband) had somehow taken possession of all three of the squirt guns and when another cousin got too hostile and demanding towards everyone in the house, ordering people to do things for her or risk being squirted. I figured I should join the battle and “assist” in redistribution at those two points. It was all in fun.

The Aftermath

While traveling home from the get-together messages were being sent back and forth with pictures of the Super Soakers they planned to bring for next year.

The cousins have already been recounting their best moves and reminiscing about the fun they had. Playing like children was healing for everyone.

Permission to Let Go

In the middle of the chaos, I asked my father-in-law if this is what he expected from this outing. He laughed and admitted, this is not at all what he expected.

He later commented that he had a great time. He even ended up going swimming in the pool for the first time in years. He said this was the first time any of his children got him to actually relax. The lesson from this whole playdate, water fight fiasco:

In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play.~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Have Fun

Your inner child would love to come out and play. Think about what you loved doing as a child. Do it again. Plan time to play. Be on the lookout for opportunities for spontaneous play. Lay in the grass, chase fireflies, jump in a lake, climb a tree, play hide and seek. Introduce your childhood pastimes to others and learn new ones. Whatever you do, have some fun.

It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. — Wayne Dyer

Thank you for reading. I hope everyone makes a playdate and loves every minute of it!

Thank you Diana C. for the Monday prompt: Seeing the inner child in everyone