Do you remember that Mary Poppins song, "A Spoonful of Sugar"? It has lyrics that state, with utter seriousness, "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun."
Ack. I wish I could agree with that. I remember singing that song, quite cheerfully, as a Girl Scout, while we were tricked into doing some yucky chore like peeling a thousand pounds of potatoes or picking up litter for a ninety-mile stretch of highway.
Maybe it wasn't quite that bad. Sometimes memories can be unreliable. And maybe it was the first clue that work isn't all that great if you have to sing a song about how wonderful it is.
I also remember the combination of work and songs when I had my first real job, at the ROTC summer camp, when I was right out of high school. The soldiers doing PT (physical training) outside would sing something called "Sound Off" to keep them running together in formation. It's a military type of limerick, complete with a variety of humorous lyrics, some of them probably made up on the fly. It generally starts with the phrase, "I don't know but I've been told", but I have to stop there since a) I can't remember the details, and b) clever as they are, they're probably unprintable. (Sorry.)
Now that I'm thinking about it, I guess it is possible to have fun while doing something onerous, or filled with drudgery, or even worse, that's "good for you".
Since we can't get rid of the yucky work stuff, and since I believe we deserve more fun, I have decided that 2011 shall be "The Year of Fun". I actually did this by accident, in a comment to a previous poster. But I realized it was the underpinning to a lot of my hopes for this year.
I'm aware we're getting a bit of a late start, what with it being mid-January (already). But once we get the hang of what fun is actually like, and how to incorporate it into our daily lives, we can proclaim next year as "The Year of More Fun". We'll even make a note on the calendar to start it on January 1.
As my part of the celebration, I plan to post some things for Wildcard Wednesdays that I consider fun, or silly, or worthy of a belly laugh. Hopefully they'll bring a little smile into your day, and inspire you to tackle work with a lighter heart. Before you know it, we'll have another year under our belts. But if we do it right, this year will be a lot of fun to look back on.
Year of Fun?! I am SO in!!
Posted by: Liz Fichera | January 19, 2011 at 08:41 AM
Liz, glad to have you on board! (We'll try not to get too rowdy. LOL)
Posted by: Donna Cummings | January 19, 2011 at 09:04 AM
Wasn't this supposed to be the phrase in your strategically placed tattoo? Or was that me? I can't remember.
I'm in. Actually, I pretty much decided a few years ago that every year from now on is the year of more fun. And this year I'm going to NYC for a week. Staying IN Times Square with a couple thousand other writers. With two AWESOME roommates. LOL!
FUN! FUN! FUN!
Posted by: Terri Osburn | January 19, 2011 at 10:16 AM
The tattoo sounds kinda familiar--I can't remember! Was that why we were going to get one, because we CAN'T remember?
I hope the gods of fun realize they need to fill my coffers so I can have all this fun I'm planning. LOL I'm excited about NYC. It's going to be such a great time!
Posted by: Donna Cummings | January 19, 2011 at 10:24 AM
New York! Yeah! Fun!
Feeling very inarticulate this morning. That's it, that's what I got...
New York! Yeah! Fun!
Posted by: Maureen | January 19, 2011 at 01:02 PM
Maureen, that's plenty! We're feeling the fun in every word. :)
Posted by: Donna Cummings | January 19, 2011 at 01:23 PM