Searching for a hobby. What a weird thought. It seems that a hobby or interest shouldn't be something you have to actively look for or seek out. But in my case... I think it is. And I think it’s about time.


Some people have lots of hobbies and interests that they naturally fall into and pursue. Take my husband Brandon for example. He’s always got something going on – some project on the go, some activity he wants to join – and he has no qualms or hesitations to pursuing the things that interest him (a rather diverse set of activities). To name a few of the bigger ones... He is athletic and really enjoys team sports – as I mentioned in an earlier post, he is the workout king (we’re talking at least 5 and sometimes 6 times a week)! He also coaches basketball at the school where he works and is now playing in a pick-up league on a weekly basis. He has a love for animals and keeps a small collection of reptiles (a few lizards, a few snakes...) that he enjoys caring for. He’s considering turning this hobby/interest into a small business, breeding the critters so that they pay for themselves. He likes to take pictures – I bought him a digital SLR for our 2nd anniversary and he has since procured a few different lenses and likes to play around, taking pictures of everything from the smallest bugs to trees blowing in the wind. He enjoys reading and almost always has a book on the go – usually some sort of fantasy adventure.

I... on the other hand... don’t really have any specific hobbies or interests. Sure, there are things that I like to do and activities that interest me – but it seems like I get caught up in the day to day of life and don’t feel like I have the time for a hobby... or to develop a specific interest beyond a passing thought. Brandon encourages me to find stuff I like to do (other than making daily meals, caring for the girls, doing a good job at work, ...) but I can always find a reason that I don’t have time. I am either trying to find something that I can do with Brandon so that I can “kill 2 birds with one stone”, spend time with my hunny and do something fun (although I have to admit that my search for activities we can do together is not a very active search... rather a passive, for special occasions type of search if you know what I mean) or I’m just to tired at the end of the day to look into something fun to do. There is also the fact that I’m a little pre-occupied planning for very regular things like how to re-organize the workshop and laundry room downstairs to make them more functional... is renovating a hobby?

Finding things we can do as a couple... the tale of a failed attempt! For our 4 year wedding anniversary it was my turn to plan the celebrations. I really enjoy a getaway but I knew that just staying at a B&B, walking around a cute town and lying by the pool would bore Brandon out of his mind. I decided to plan a weekend of “active” outdoor activities so that I could get my weekend away at a beautiful B&B (check it out: http://www.maniatyn.com/main_ad.html) and we could try new things together. The two main activities that I planned were Arbre-en-arbre (a physical activity where you put on a harness and go through increasingly difficult obstacle course in the trees http://www.arbreenarbre.com/index.html ) and an 8 km kayaking excursion down the Missisquoi River (http://www.audiablevert.qc.ca/). Well... I discovered that weekend that I am particularly interested and drawn to yummy breakfast (okay... so that is something I already knew) and activities that Brandon really doesn’t enjoy (this wasn’t part of the plan). It turns out that Brandon isn’t so fond of heights and he only did half of the courses at Arbre en arbre because he was uncomfortable dangling in the tree tops. The kayaking trip probably would have been okay if his kayak hadn’t had a hole in it (sigh) making it impossible for him to paddle without incredible force once the kayak had filled up a little (double sigh).

Resolving to develop my own interests... though I’m not sure how I’ll find the time... Finding a hobby, pursuing interests... it takes time. Life is busy but I’m starting to see that it’s important to take the time needed to maintain the things that you want in your life... whether it’s your own body (& spirit), your family (& home), your friends or your interests.

But first things first – what do I like? What am I interested in? I listed a bunch of things that I “love” in my first blog, so that is a fair place to start. I love to eat, should I take a cooking class? Or maybe become a self-proclaimed food critic (I’m really not that picky though so I probably wouldn’t be all that critical)? I like coloring with my toddler and even tried a paint-by-number during my first maternity leave. Should I take a painting class? I love to sing (and was even quite good at it when my vocal chords were in practice). Singing lessons? Piano lessons? (tried piano lessons... and I’m just not patient enough to wait out the period of time where I’m really not good...) I pass a pilot school when I drive Layla to daycare and often think it would be neat to learn to fly. But it would be neat to do a lot of things... sky dive, hike, train for a triathlon, start skiing, paint, make ceramic bowls (seriously, it looks therapeutic), start a book club, write a blog --- wait a minute --- hold that thought ---

Could this blog be considered a hobby? Does it qualify? Could my new workout regimen be considered pursuing an interest? (not that it’s something I particularly enjoy doing... but it’s good for me and maybe it will grow on me). And I'm thinking of finally investing in a pair of ski's this winter even it means that it's something I do on my own...

Maybe, just maybe, I am on the right track. Maybe my problem is that I'm interested in too many things and need to narrow my interests down and just doing something. For fun. For me.

A.