Hobbies

We all have hobbies we enjoy in our spare time.  Some of my friends love to shop, work out,
cook, or travel while others bike, garden, swim, or read.  Me?  I watch the Redskins.  It's my thing.  It's what I do. 

Here’s the deal:  I love football.  More specifically, I love REDSKIN football. It’s a hobby that has transformed into my passion – some might say my obsession -- over the past 20 years.   I readily admit I am nuts.  As my husband often says, there are worse vices I could take up, although on game day he might tell you differently because when the Redskins are losing, I am really not that much fun to be around.

In any event, I often say I'm the only mom in the pre-school carline pick up who listens to sports talk radio instead of The Wiggles. I make it a rule never to leave the house when the Redskins are playing.  Game day is my day.  I'm off-duty as a mom for the four hours or so the game is being played.  I don't make lunches, do laundry, open the mail, or even answer the phone.  My kid—ages 4 and 8—normally steer clear of me, which is unfortunate as I wish my son, at least, would catch some of my 'Skins fanaticism.  But I digress.  Let's just say I schedule my Sundays around the Redskins and I don't feel the least bit guilty about it.  Like I said, we all have our thing…mine just happens to be watching football.

That's probably why we love having hobbies.  They allow us to escape from our everyday reality, if only for a while.  And that's why I love football—watching it, following it, reading about it, even writing about it.  It's different.  It's unique.  And it's totally mine.  I don't have to share it with anyone else unless I want to, and living in a house with a husband who grew up in Baltimore, I can assure you he's not real interested in sharing this part of my life with me.  The football part, yes.  The Redskins part, not so much.

Considering how I often behave when the Skins lose a game—which has been often over the past few years, I realize–you might argue it’s no wonder no one in my family wants to share my passion with me.  But even still, I like having a hobby that allows me time to disengage from my everyday life and just let loose.  Be free.  Be myself.  If only for a little while. 

It's not to say I don't like doing other things, like reading, biking, cooking or just hanging out with friends and family.  I enjoy them all...just not on game day.

If you have a passion you enjoy, more power to you.  Embrace it.  Life is more fun when we can escape from the daily grind once in a while.  Let's hear it for our hobbies, and I hope this year, the Skins give me something to really escape to—a winning season!