Game On...

Fall in New England means soccer, football, biking, car racing, hiking, bonfires, beer and checking out the autumn hues. Or, at least it used to in the days of BW,BK (a.k.a. - Before Wife, Before Kids ). You catch my drift. All the fun things you and your buddies used to do before she "made you" sell the motorcycle and beat-up old Ford pickup your Dad gave you. Who said that just because you Tied the Knot or Picked up the Ball & Chain that you had to stop living?




Don't get me wrong. I know how much you love them. They're wonderful...most of the time. But, some days you really miss your freedom and want to live in the days of 'remember when'.

We both know that going to talk to someone isn't for you. Not yet, anyway. It's really not that bad. You've been thinking about telling your closest friend but...(Yeah, you know who I'm talking about..the guy who holds it over your head all the stories he's got that could end the fatherly image you've painted.)

Before you brush it off and tell yourself that's life, consider trying these:

Increase activity. Remember the after-school pick up games? Call that old friend, dig the football out of the garage (or borrow your son's) and toss it around. Take a hike and invite them along. If he knows the places you used to hang out, then it's not blackmail material anymore!

Decrease activity. Remember that secret place you had as a kid? Where's your place today? It doesn't have to be fancy. I know, I know, you want the Man Cave. Too bad it doesn't fit into the Recession's plans. That's going to have to wait. There still plenty of trails in the nearby state forests and parks. Maybe that tree still has your name etched into it? Go check it out.

As life's treacherous bends and abrupt turns increase stress and the boring, mundane schedule wears you down, it's easy to forget that BW,BK you used to have choices. Those opportunities didn't disappear, you got forgot to use them. Try flexing a bit of that muscle now, see how changing something so small can really change that mood you've been dragging around. You never know, maybe you'll be saying, 'Game on' this afternoon.