July/August, 2012 – Getting Back to Hobbies
When I was pregnant with my daughter (over seven years ago), I remember chatting with my tennis partner. She told me that after having her three kids, it took about twelve years to get back to tennis. “What?@$##%#?” I responded, trying to shrug off the feeling of shock. And then, “That’s not going to happen to me.” Then she said something along the lines of, “You’ll see.” In brief, someone without kids has no idea about what life will be like WITH kids. I played tennis that season until I was seven months pregnant. We were still playing pretty well in our matches, but it was getting to the point where the competitors felt sorry for me and didn’t want to hit me with the ball. So I left the courts.
I had my beautiful baby girl and then almost two years later – our handsome baby boy. We went through the difficult sleep-deprived nights, juggling our schedules, teaching the kids new things and time flew by. It flew by even faster having a magazine to manage – first the print publication for 3 years and now the online magazine for almost 4 years. Everything I used to do as a hobby including tennis fell by the wayside.
Last month – now that the kids are 7 and 5 years old – I returned to the tennis courts and joined a tennis team. I have to selfishly admit, as a mother, that I needed this desperately. Even though there is barely time in my schedule to do it, I love getting back to tennis and feel energized by it. So if I have to work past midnight after getting back from a match at night, it’s all worth it.
Why is it so important to play tennis again? One reason is that it’s another expression of “me” that doesn’t have a chance to come out in another areas of life. I’m getting better at nurturing and teaching (I hope), but there’s also a side of me that needs to hit a tennis ball, as hard as I can, and be competitive. As an individual, we feel better when we allow ourselves to play different roles and be well-rounded. Another reason is that I needed a true form of exercise. I’m not knocking the benefits of taking a nice walk or working out for thirty minutes at the gym. However, there’s something a lot more satisfying about really working hard in a sport that you enjoy and sweating at it for two or three hours. Last but not least – it’s time spent with other adults my age. No matter how terrific a parent you are, you need to have some decent adult conversations in your day too.
So as the longer days of July and August stretch ahead of us, I wonder what other hobbies I might get back to? Writing plays? Drawing cartoons? Biking? The possibilities are exciting!
Check out all of our wonderful articles this month in AroundWellington.com! I’m grateful to our writers and photographers for their contributions each month. THANKS so much to our advertisers, who make AroundWellington.com possible too! As a little reminder, we do a combined July/August issue in the summer – to give everyone a break. We will still have some new articles August 1st though, and we always have new photo galleries and press releases each week!
This month I had the fun of interviewing Lucy Gutierrez of Playmobil FunPark for our AW Spotlight story. We focused on their awesome birthday parties. A couple of years ago, we had a fantastic birthday party for our son at Playmobil in Palm Beach Gardens. So I can tell you first-hand that this is the type of birthday party you want for your young child. If you need a break and don’t want to lift a finger (and still want an excellent birthday party), this is the party for your child! Check out the story and the related videos too.
Check our “Contest” page for our current contest! THANKS to Massage Envy for providing the monthly prize of a one-hour gift certificate! THANKS to all of you who enter our contests each month.
For the full menu of our stories, photos and videos, just visit our home page – www.AroundWellington.com!
Best Regards and I hope you’re having a very Happy Summer! Happy 4th of July too!!
Krista Martinelli
Editor
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