Play as Prayer!

My family spent the last two weeks of December in Cuba, which is another whole reflection in its own right. On all trips in the past several years, I have written papers for school or work. On our summer biking trip, I downloaded the books on my Kindle to carry in my pannier (minimal living on a bike) and managed to find a computer along the bike path to write two papers.  My family patiently waited for their multitasking bike partner. 

This time, as I was packing, I made the decision to put away Atul Gwande’s Being Mortal in favor of packing two novels. I currently am reading Being Mortal for class, but, frankly, it was depressing me.  Do you have any idea what happens to your teeth as you age?  I digress…  Seriously though, I realized that I needed to put everything away and just be with my family for two weeks.

For pleasure and enjoyment, I read The World’s Largest Man which elicited hysterical laughter, and Beyond the Beautiful Forevers.  I was reminded how soul-filling it is to sometimes leave death, dying, and the daily schedule of childrearing behind and simply enjoy pleasurable books and play with my boys.  Because it was extremely difficult to get WIFI in Cuba, I turned my phone off and secreted it away for almost 2 weeks; I didn’t even miss it!  My boys were not allowed to have screen time during our time away.  We played many games together, swam, snorkeled, salsa danced, rode horses through tobacco fields, met and stayed with Cuban families, ate all of our meals together, read together, and were present and unplugged.  It was wonderful, and I literally felt the calmness and unhurried-ness of our time unfold with each passing day. 

I left all work behind to play and simply “BE” in an unstructured, beautiful way.  Now I am back to work preparing a memorial and generally getting my boys’ winter schedules in shape. I feel refreshed and grateful for play and rest and two fantastic novels! There is no doubt in my mind that reading great novels, interacting with friends and family, swimming, running, and generally unplugging heals my soul and brings a freshness and new dimension to my prayer life.

I'm attaching a link to two short videos we made that gives a visual reflection and flavor of our playful prayer time in Cuba.  The second involves a mannequin challenge and some beach dancing.  Because this would be the first Christmas without my dad, my mother, my sister, her husband, and my 3 nieces joined us in Cuba.  All are pictured in the fun, playful video.  Despite the mixed and challenging emotions of missing my dad, it was wonderful to be together.    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKcd7M4ZtNw&feature=em-share_video_user (Links to an external site.)

https://youtu.be/emtaIaUuya4