Finding fun
As the class parent in charge of a first grade Halloween party at school, the pressure was on. Ok, I was the one putting the pressure on myself, but still, somehow the stakes for the party felt higher than the multi-million dollar class actions I used to litigate. What if we were missing snacks? What if the kids hated the snacks? What if they didn't want to do the Halloween craft? What if, what if, what IF?! Cue the overthinking and unnecessary mental load.
The morning of the party, I was on a call with my business coach and friend Jen Grosso, strategizing about exciting 2024 plans for JMT Speaks. (Stay tuned -- I'm psyched!) Jen is also a former litigator, so she knows how easy it is to overthink, overanalyze, and... overwhelm. She then gave me advice that hit home: "When you're at the party, remember to have fun."
Fun?
That word, concept, idea -- whatever you want to call it -- keeps coming up a lot lately. The functional medicine expert I saw about my lymphedema basically took one look at me and said: "You don't prioritize fun." So, I guess I kind of have a prescription to have more fun?
That afternoon at the party, I was responsible for reading a Halloween book to the class. The school librarian selected Hoodwinked, a cute story about a young girl who liked creepy things and wanted to find a creepy pet... maybe. I'd never read the book before, but the storyteller in me didn't care. As I finished the silly story to the sounds of the kids' glee, I shut the book and thought: "Now THAT was my kind of fun."
I share this because if you're anything like me (Type A, a perfectionist, a parent, a Virgo, a person who has had a demanding job, an overthinker), you might also lose sight of fun or tend to put it on the backburner. I had never thought of having fun at the party until Jen suggested it. Going forward, I'm making a conscious effort to find the fun in everyday tasks instead of getting wrapped up in making them successful or checking them off the list.
Notably, I'm also defining fun my own way. A few parents told me how much they enjoyed listening to the story because of how I read it. It turns out that fun is contagious. Three cheers for the next class party!
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