Building a Cardboard Boat: Relearning How to Play

Something happened to me as I got older: I forgot how to play. In recent years life’s responsibilities became overwhelming: the need to, ought to, should do, and must do took over. And, when I couldn’t face all the need to, ought to, should do, and must dos, I did nothing and felt guilty. Then stressed about all that I ‘needed’ to do: Didn’t sleep, didn’t eat right, or exercise. My overall health deteriorated.

I forgot how to just let go and play.

Today I played. No guilt.

Today was boat building day. A former next door neighbor and her husband have organized a cardboard boat regatta for Halloween afternoon. The challenge: Build a boat using only cardboard, coat hangers, duct tape, and paint or markers, then paddle out to a buoy 50 yards offshore and back. Best time wins.

Five groups spent the afternoon in our friends’ driveway, steps from the harbor, designing and building cardboard boats. Each took a different tack, transforming large and small pieces of cardboard into structures expected to float and hold together long enough to cover the hundred yard course.

Bill and I built a boat with two compartments: one for each child who will paddle as fast as they can to round the buoy and head back to shore before sinking. Sheathed in white duct tape, our cardboard craft was christened Casper after the friendly ghost; I painted eyes and a smile on the prow and wrote Casper on the stern.

I lost myself in this activity. The sun was out, strangers were working together on a shared task, we laughed, ate great burgers, and admired each other’s creations.

Or, I should say I found my former self in this activity. The same self I found while on vacation this summer: we visited family and old friends, explored a new city, and climbed two mountains. We played, had fun; but the feeling didn’t last. Shortly after arriving home, the stress reclaimed me, the pressure built, and my health once again deteriorated.

Today showed me the playful, relaxed me is near. I want her to stay.