Hobbies

According to the dictionary:

Hobby: An activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.

When I was growing up, there was little talk of hobbies. Mom's day was filled with raising six kids, and the things she did, e.v.e.r.y. s.i.n.g.l.e d.a.y were mostly for survival. Laundry, cooking, cleaning, sewing, canning, gardening...

Honestly. Her days were JAM PACKED -- there was no actual "leisure time".

Looking back, maybe that was a problem. Because, when her children started moving out of the house, Mom's world was blown up by the "empty nest" torpedo.

I certainly didn't understand it then -- but as we all went our separate ways -- Mom was no longer taking care of a house full of kids -- and she had time on her hands.

Clearly, Mom didn't know what to do with "leisure time"...

Unfortunately, drinking became Mom's hobby.

Let's just say it was a dark time in my family's history.

When I think back to my childhood -- it seems Dad had time for many hobbies. He played poker every weekend, and he belonged to a hunting club...so there was deer hunting, duck hunting. In the summer, he was an avid fisherman and in the winter, he would sit for hours, picking the black walnuts he collected and cleaned in the fall. Many of Dad's hobbies became daily habits. For example, reading every page of the daily newspaper was always a part of his day.

I don't think my parents were unique. Maybe that's just the way it was during that time. But that was then...and this is now.

How important is it to have hobbies? And how do you pick?