When someone asks you, "What do you do for fun?", and you have no idea how to respond, it's time for a change. I've spent years finding satisfaction in a job well done, or in building, repairing, or dismantling something that needed it, but "Fun" somehow just disappeared. How does that even happen?

I'm not bitter, I'm not sick, and I'm not a boring person (I hope), but I've let myself forget having fun. Maybe it was the obligations- the increasingly wet and heavy blanket of duty to my marriage. Maybe it was a misguided need to achieve certain benchmarks in my life that kept me off the playing field. No matter how it happened, though, I'm determined to start letting go, relaxing, and having fun again.

So I dug out my bicycle, I drank beers while listening to live music, I flew a plane for the first time, and I hiked along a mountain river - all the while, my smile grew wider and my soul felt lighter. I'm pretty sure I was having fun.

I'm still going to work on the practical things, still going to haul lumber and clean the house, but now I have a mission: Simplify and set yourself free. Free to have fun.