A Balanced Life Magazine...

Ordinary people; Extraordinary lives

My Account

Recreation - A Gateway to Community

I supervised a teen center for 5 years.  Though owned by the city, it was a house of its own— a place for local youth to create their own community.  November being the month of thanksgiving, I'm remembering the after school Novembers I spent hanging out with middle school kids (a population most people informed me they would never want to work with).  The middle schoolers in this small town of 6,000, though challenging at times, touched me with their gratitude in surprising ways.  I know what you’re thinking: grateful 12 year olds?  I have to see it to believe it.  I saw it with my own eyes.

Each November we'd put a tree of thanks up on a teen center wall.  The children would pick a construction paper leaf, write what they were thankful for, and pin it on the tree.  Yes, there was the year when one child gave thanks for being a pimp.  We had to change that one.  But, overall, I witnessed gratitudes that give meaning to thanks-giving.  A few I recall read something like...

• I'm thankful for the teen center
• I'm thankful for my parents
• I'm thankful for my home and family
• I'm thankful for the staff
• I'm thankful for my friends
• I'm thankful for turkey
• I'm thankful for soccer
• I'm thankful for everything

Before we'd chow down at our annual after school Thanksgiving potluck party, we'd circle up in the teen center livingroom for a quick gratitudes circle.  There might be anywhere from twelve to twenty youth.  Common sense would say that, given the option to pass, at least half the group would let the candle skip by before speaking publicly about what they're grateful for.  To my amazement, most years nearly every child spoke.  Of course, some would make a joke (to which we'd all laugh, even if we tried not to).  But, when invited, most would end with something short, sweet and real.  After all, they were speaking to their teen center family— a community they created with the staff where they felt valued for who there were.  I was honored to be witness to, and a part of, this magic.  For me, this was recreation at its juiciest.

I chose to share this memory this month because it's a glowing example of how recreation programs can be a gateway to creating community.  Whether you participate in an adult softball league, watch your child play little league, enjoy a senior center, or go to a crafts faire, these activities connect you with others.  And doesn’t that also land true within families as well?  When you gather and play as a family at Thanksgiving, at the beach, in the yard, on a bike ride, at the park, these activities foster bonds that can bring more laughter, fun and love.  And who doesn’t want more of that?

For this month's invitation to play, I invite you to become a playful play detective.  No matter where you are this month, I invite you to notice what types of activities bring people together.  You might walk past a park and notice a dog obedience class, catch that line of Harley Davidson’s rumbling past you on the highway, notice the holiday crafts fairs popping up in your city or town.  At the end of the month, you might ask yourself, "What have I learned about creating community?  How might I foster community in my own life?  What recreation and/or play activities might be fun, effective gateways to fostering the bonds that I value?"

If you're already a community creator and the above invitation is already in action for you, I invite you to have a month of celebration of all you've been a part of and created.  Just bask in the enjoyment of it all.  Happy Thanksgiving!