What are your interests?

good times

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 2:49 pm

I'm a mom with several young kids and I realized recently that I have hardly any interests/hobbies outside of parenting. I'm would like to figure some out but am at a loss as to what to do. I would love some ideas! Please share your interests and how you nurture your interests and hobbies. Thanks so much!

bigsis144

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 3:33 pm

I am very much into the performing arts. On the "mild" end of the scale I love to go to the theater and I devour the directors' commentaries on every movie I watch.

On the "you need help, lady" end of the scale, I've been acting, dancing, choreographing and directing since I was 12. I've worked on school plays in multiple cities across the US. It gives me LIFE! (And also doesn't let me have a life Wink

)

zaq

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 4:32 pm

Parenting involves doing a whole lot of things that you may not think of as "hobbies" because you don't engage in them in a systematic way or excel at them, such as:

--sports/exercise/walking/hiking/swimming
--arts & crafts
--cooking/baking
--reading
--museum-going
--holiday activities
--dance/comedy/acting
--music/singing
--writing Purim grammen
--games of all types
--etc.

A hobby doesn't have to be systematic. The Hebrew word for "hobby" is "tachbiv", from the same root as "chibah", or "affection", and IMHO a much better term. A hobby is simply anything you do because you enjoy it, usually in your spare time.

What a hobby doesn't have to be is something to which you dedicate a whole lot of time and become a world-class expert in. You can, if you care to, but you don't have to. An activity can qualify as a "hobby" if you absolutely stink at it and do it once in a blue moon when the spirit moves you as well as if you devote five hours to it every Sunday and are the local champion.

amother

Brunette

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 6:01 pm

I enjoy sewing, home decorating and painting so I'm constantly redoing things in my home like sewing curtain, painting a bedroom in fun colors, oil painting (though with little kids around I hardly get to it; it takes too long to set up and clean up to be worthwhile), reupholstering chairs, rearranging furniture in different layout...

I love to read too so that's easy! I read while I eat, in the bathroom, while nursing my baby, before going to sleep...

amother

Sienna

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 7:35 pm

"Nurturing" a hobby sounds suspiciously like work. I have a family to nurture, TYVM, and a hobby should be something to relax with, something that will nurture ME, not something I need to "work at" or "nurture". Therefore I don't have any "hobbies" as most people think of them, in the sense of a lifelong dedication to some extracurricular pursuit. What I have is "things I'm into right now". For a time, maybe a month or several months I'll be interested in some topic, whether it's learning how to play a musical instrument or reading every Jane Austen spinoff book ever written. After a time, I may give it a rest, pick up some new obsession for a while, and revisit the interest a year or five down the road. Or not. Point is, I refuse to be a slave to an interest. I don't need to get good at anything, I just need to enjoy doing it. If I get good at it, great. If not, or if I never do it again, who cares?

gold21

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 9:42 pm

READING- I love all kinds of books

DRINKING ICED COFFEE- seriously- major hobby of mine Wink

SOCIALIZING- mostly via whatsapp these days- but I do socialize in person when I have time- which is not very often- I find that I tend to socialize in person much more in the summer than during the school year

WATCHING MOVIES- I enjoy unwinding to a good movie when I have time

GETTING A MASSAGE - now if only massages were free, I would seriously get them daily

MUSIC- I looove music

GOING WALKING IN GORGEOUS WEATHER- only applicable between May and October unfortunately

WATCHING CLIPS ON YOUTUBE OF VARIOUS PEOPLE- I currently watch clips of Donald Trump Wink

I find him interesting- I also watch clips of various celebrities- keeps me going while doing dishes and laundry and boring stuff like that Cool

SWIMMING AND WATER SPORTS- I love swimming, in a major way- but don't swim often- maybe a couple of times every summer. I really love water parks- they are so fun- but obviously a trip to a water park does not happen often.

BASEBALL- I love baseball, I play with my kids Cool

(I dislike all other organized sports- I only like baseball!)

SLEEPING- who doesn't enjoy that! Sleep

PLAYING AROUND WITH BEAUTY PRODUCTS- I could spend all day in Sephora trying on makeup and not get bored (which wouldn't happen, due to lack of time, but in theory...). I also love playing around with skincare products, like masks and scrubs. I love sampling perfumes also. However, since I don't wear a ton of makeup, and my budget is limited, I am careful with what I purchase, I don't over-spend.

Thats all I could come up with at the moment. Hope its a helpful list!