Weekend update, September 9, 2013

“Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.” 

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

This just in:

All previously scheduled programming
has been interrupted by a playtime special.
In other news, my girlfriend is a real pig.

This week, a happy constellation of circumstances aligned and granted me some quantity time with two of my all time favorite playmates. No, I am not talking about pasta and chocolate.

I'm talking about these two.

That's right, I'm in Denver, giggling with the preschool set and finding once again that time spent in the company of people who are still in possession of all their baby teeth can prompt some very serious thinking about play.  I have watched a lot of kitty and puppy videos, so although I am not a zoologist, and have no scientific research on which to base my theory, on the evidence of Youtube I will state it as a fact:

All mammals play. 

And some birds play. And maybe cephalopods. And once I had a fish that made mad passes at it's reflection on the wall of the fishtank. But I'm pretty sure that it was just crazy, and not playful. 

But mammals not only do play, they must play. Humans especially. 

And by play, I do not mean competition. We grown ups often mistake competition for play, perhaps because our competitions are so often called games:

She's holding cards and wearing
a silly hat, but if it's playing, why does
she look so mad?

  

I mean unselfconsciously silly, free-hearted, joking, jumping, romping fun. And playing with your food? It's some of the best play around.

The week's fun and games started with laying in a freezer full of food for our son and volunteer house-sitter Danny, the master chef behind the stove at Archaeology Test Kitchen. First up, the  Oven roasted brisket.  This recipe is a consistent winner- if you can remember to start it in time. Once you remember that, you can forget it till dinner time. It's easy, delicious, and when brisket's on sale, remarkably inexpensive.

The slow cooker pulled pork was alright, but would've been better if I'd been home to turn it over a few times- the meat closest to the bottom of the cooker was fall-apart tender, but the top, the part that emerged like a meatberg from the cooking liquid, was still tough-ish. I'm not sure how to fix that yet, but I'm wondering about it, and suggestions are, as always, appreciated.

And that's not all we've learned through play this week. We played our way into learning that: 

1) A focused four year old can turn the contents of an appetizer plate
 into a killer hummus sandwich. Which she definitely will not eat.

2) Be you ever so short on cash, if you're long on cute,
even sliced olive jewelry will work with the ladies.

3) The beautiful (and very real) mermaids of  Denver Aquarium mermaid show work a long-lasting magic that can inspire a pretty awesome weekend dinner menu:

Grilled salmon, shark (that looked suspiciously like t-bone steak), seaweed (well, sort of) salad, peanut butter and squished jelly(fish) sandwiches, banana boats and goldfish crackers in seaweed.

I may never understand how or why playing with your food became a bad thing. 
Or why it's so easy for playing to become all about winning and losing.
But I do know that play matters.
And the imagination and energy you put into 
making what's good for you and those you love
fun for all of you,
that matters.
Because this world is a sad and serious place,
and the moments of joy and freedom
that are played into it
make us lighter. 
Light enough, sometimes,  (just maybe)

to leapfrog right over a sorrow.