This time last week I was at a pretty wacky pop up experience in London. It celebrated the beauty and wonder of the natural world by creating an interactive space filled with giant fruit and veg installations – as you do, hey! Now, it had originally started out life as an art exhibition for adults but the brains behind the operation soon realised that it held great appeal for babies and kids.
And, with a 5 month old of my own, I can certainly vouch for its fun factor. Imagine exploring an avocado ball pit, swinging on a huge pea pod, navigating your way around a UV grape room or pushing a giant cherry hanging from the ceiling back and forth! It sure was a unique play experience.
But one of the greatest things was seeing just how much fun the adults there were having. Yes, we might have grown up, stopped screeching and got jobs - but the inner child was very much on show that day.
Deepak Chopra, the brilliant new age thinker, has wisely said; 'be happy for no reason, like a child. If you are happy for a reason, you're in trouble, because that reason can be taken from you.'
Of course playing and having fun helps to boost our short-term happiness, but a recent headline that caught my eye reported a study confirming that time-out actually helps us to live longer. Yep, having some well-earned playtime, three weeks holiday a year to be precise, is the key to a long life.
The famous quote from Jesus that we ought not to hinder children but rather ‘become like them’ resonates with me more than ever now that I’m a mum. The total exhilaration of watching a brand new human mind and personality unfold before my eyes is second only to the joy of joining in too.
And it might be for this reason that Mother Nature has made it so that in order for my baby to let loose one of her loudest, most impressive laughs, I’m required to play along and make a total fool of myself also.
So yes, it might be September and the next holiday could be a while off but the essence of my day with the gigantic fruit creations, that heaven-sent vacation-life-extending study and those ridiculous performances needed to get a giggle out of my daughter certainly can be injected into the Autumn Winter of 2018.