Weekend Fun Recap: May 16–18

I hope you had fun this weekend! As an Enneagram One, fun isn’t always (ever?) my top priority. But I’m learning! I’m trying to recognize where fun is already happening in my life and trying to plan more time for it. My weekend fun included friends, games, a good book, and a recipe I quadruple to keep up with demand. I share it below!

Mom’s Night Out

My kids are at a new school this year, and I love how intentional the parents are about getting to know each other. A mom in my oldest daughter’s grade regularly schedules mom’s nights out for the grade’s moms. I attended one right as school was starting when I hardly knew anyone—nerve-wracking for sure! But as I’ve gotten to know this awesome group of moms, these events have transitioned from scary to fun. I so appreciate the moms who make the effort to coordinate these events. Maybe as I learn to have more fun, I’ll organize an event myself!

Friday night, we had dinner and a “summer essential” gift swap. In very non-Enneagram-One style, I left my summer essential at home—so I’ll get to enjoy my favorite vegetable-oil-free chips and peach salsa myself. Who wants to join me and make it even more fun?

As an introvert and homebody, I can sometimes struggle to leave the house, especially by the end of the week. It also means I have to ask for help with the kids. But I’m always glad I did it. Being around people usually proves to be more fun than I expected—and this group of moms is definitely fun!   

New Hair, Who Dis?

Saturday morning was full of less-than-fun toddler antics, piano lesson carpooling, and a Goodwill drop. I do find decluttering fun, but loading up the car is arguably the least enjoyable part. Thankfully, I had a haircut schedule for the afternoon, so I got a little “me” time. A friend of mine has been cutting my hair for years, and when she moved her salon into her basement 30 minutes away from my house, I knew continuing to go to her was going to be a commitment. But I’m so glad I do.

First, she’s been giving me the same cut since I first leaned in to the mom chop eight years ago. She knows what “the usual” is and always gets it right. But second, and more importantly, she’s my friend. Spending a hour with her feels more like a girlfriend chat than checking a self-“care” chore off of my list. I’ve had to learn to budget time for the two-hour process every couple of months. Reframing it as fun time with my friend always helps me come home refreshed.

Family Game Night

Because of mom’s night out, we pushed family game night to Saturday night. We had our usual pizza for dinner and then played  Monopoly Deal. My middle daughter received this as a birthday gift, and this was our first time playing as a family. The rules were pretty easy to understand, and the gameplay was fast. My oldest daughter won, and she appreciated the quick cleanup! I appreciated that it was short since the toddler asked “Can I have a card?” through most of it.  Next time, we might have to get him his own deck to scatter around!

Volunteering

Ok, I admit it, I usually sign up to help with my church’s kids ministry because I know my three kids are benefitting from the program, so I want to give back. I don’t necessarily do it for the fun of it. But you know what? It almost always turns out to be fun. This Sunday was especially fun because we started off the morning with training. You know this Enneagram One loves to be real clear on the rules, so a morning with rule explanations, breakfast food, and friends checks a lot of boxes for me.

Making it even more fun was the inclusion of one of my other favorite things: games. Who remembers Taboo? If you’re a 90s kid like me, this might be a highlight of your party game memories or a source of your anxiety. The goal of the game is to get your teammates to guess a particular word by describing it while avoiding the “taboo” words that you might normally associate with it. If you say a taboo word, a member of the opposing team will gleefully press a buzzer, ideally right in your ear. I’ve always loved word-based games, and this is a favorite that I haven’t played in years.

So when the leaders asked for volunteers for a kids-ministry-themed round of Taboo, I was uncharacteristically happy to get up in front of a large group of people and creatively describe diapers, playgrounds, and accident reports. I’m glad I didn’t let my introvert tendencies get the best of me because guess what? It was fun.

Small Group Dinner

We finished up a fun weekend with dinner with some dear friends. Our small group has been meeting together for nearly 16 years, and we’re so thankful for these friends who are now family. We try to grab dinner together once a month or so, and it’s always life-giving and fun. The big kids so kindly look after the little kids, usually coming up with some sort of dance or show to end the evening with—after we have cake, of course. This week, the kids enjoyed the hamburger-style cupcakes pictured above! My “decide once” contribution a la The Lazy Genius is these Jalapeno Popper Deviled Eggs. I’m up to bring 48 for the 16 of us, and they always disappear!

Reading Recap

I try to read a book a week, generally finishing up on Sundays. I’ll confess I read the last 10 pages of this one Monday morning, but I’ll share it here in hopes that I’ll be back on track by next weekend! From a Far and Lovely Country is the 24^th installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. As a completionist, when I get this far into a series, I really need to stop and ask myself whether I’m still enjoying it. In this case, it’s a resounding yes. The characters feel like old friends, the detective work is low stakes, and the Botswana setting feels just right as the weather warms up here. I definitely recommend starting at the beginning of this series rather than jumping in here, but if you enjoy book 1, you’ll have a lot of fun ahead of you.

This concluding line from the book resonated so much with me when I reflected back on my weekend. I hope it describes your experience as well. Let me know in the comments how your weekend was and how you made time for fun!

“Above them was the sky of that beloved country, a sky upon which we all might gaze, on our portion of it at least, wherever we were; a sky that forgave and sheltered and ultimately made us feel that we were where we should be, among people we felt we should be with.”

• Alexander McCall Smith, From a Far and Lovely Country

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