What do you do when your children’s interest are no where near yours? A friend of mine has come up with a great idea in order to interact with his son who has nothing in common with him and he calls it “fun time”. This time could be anything his son wants to do from exploring bugs in the yard to watching a show or movie, reading a book on Egyptian pyramids to cooking something together. The idea is not to make anything happen but to just have fun. Since his boy is six years old and he wants to have a great relationship with him my friend decided that together trumps what you’re doing.

This is kind of a reversal from the “old school” thinking where you had to do whatever your parents were doing in order to spend time with them. What my buddy has discovered after several years of doing what his son likes that now his boy is asking him what he likes to do and they are starting to do some additional things like go to a football game and camping. What you see when you are with these guys is the love they have for each other and how much fun and joy they get from just hanging out. It’s a great way to have fun with kids.

There are so many people walking around in a daze and looking like they are going to explode at any minute. The stress is all over their face and some even walk bent over like the hunchback of Notre Dame with back and neck pain galore. Very few adults I know over the age of forty are having fun and this is a national problem.

Yes, I know we are stressed and the economy is not what it was a couple of years ago and I know there are some of us who are out of work and really struggling. However, I also know that laughter lifts us out of the doldrums and ruts we find ourselves in and makes life more tolerable and just a little bit easier. The lack of fun and play has ripped the life right out of so many of us that we need to pay attention and get it back. If that means getting on the floor and playing with the dog or sliding down a slide with your kids or your spouse if you don’t have kids then do it. Get out and breathe in the fresh air and laugh out loud for real and not in a text message. You and the people around you will be glad you did.

I wasn’t able to lose weight until I learned about two things – patience and nutrition. I had to give up my idea that weight loss needed to be fast and painful. It hasn’t been easy because I’ve been yo-yo dieting my whole life. I’d either go on a meager diet and starve myself to the point of insanity or allow myself just about anything. It all caught up with me when I got an ultra-stressful job. The stress eating associated with this unhealthy job caused a 70 pound weight gain. I was in trouble, and no amount of yo-yo dieting was going to help me now.

After reading material from nutritionists, psychologists and health experts, I decided to change my habits over the period of a year. I designed my own plan with the help of an online support group. I’m two months into the plan and have lost about 10 pounds. I have to fight the urge to starve myself because I’d like to get all this weight off immediately. But deep down I know that’s not going to work. My diet consists mostly of foods high in phytonutrients. Instead of filling up on comfort food, I eat plenty of fresh berries and vegetables. I’ve eliminated sugar and white flour completely and feel that finally, I am on my way.