How do you make life fun? Or is it just boring at age 43?

[Ssshhdog]

I miss fun! Proper fun..I’m not even sure what that looks like tbh. Do you have fun? Or does it sort of stop after your 30’s/when you have kids?( had Dd at 40, adore her and life is sort of fun, but in a very different way) it was a definite fun before this.

Define fun ?? Loads of different ways to have fun! Fun alone, you mean? Fun with your kid? Ways I had fun so far today: pretending to fall on top of my son over and over again (hilarious apparently), brunch at a cafe, reading my book on the sofa, painting.

Ways I had fun in the last month: cinema with a friend, weekend at legoland, anniversary dinner, regular hysterics with my husband.

I'm also 43 and had a DD at 40. Life is occasionally fun when we can afford a weekend away without the kids (or with but that can be same shit, different place). For the most part it's been dull since I committed to spending most of my money on a home aged 21

Of course it doesn't stop, you're never too old for fun! Sometimes what you find fun changes though and it takes some working out what you like. The last year has also been a bit of a fun zapper!

What did you enjoy in your 30s? What things make you happy? What did you enjoy as a child? Perhaps it's time to try a new hobby?

It's hard with kids but they grow up eventually (though ours seem to have moved back!) one of the advantages of having them younger is by my early 50'z I got most of my freedom back, it's easier to go out when they don't need a baby sitter.

We go out, go away for weekends, see friends, go out on the bike and are planning (wistfully) trips for when we can afford to quit working

Ways I had fun so far today: pretending to fall on top of my son over and over again (hilarious apparently)..

😂 You sound like my kind of person.

I don't think it's your age as such, more the stage you're at - with young kids. I'm the same age as you but my kids are much older and It's great getting my life back again :p

What do you mean by fun?

Life with toddlers is really tough, but my dcs are older now and they are so much fun to be around every day. We laugh a lot.

I see friends and have fun with them too - going on walks, nights out, breaks away, etc. Same with DH.

I’m lucky that my work is fun. If I didn’t find my work fun, my life would be soooooo flat. As it is, I love it.

Life is tough with a toddler/pre-schooler. I'm your age but DD is nearly 8 and those few years make all the difference. We have proper fun together and she's old enough for sleepovers so DH and I can have nights out without worrying about rushing home for the babysitter. I also have nights out with friends and days where we hang out with friends and the kids play while we catch-up and drink. I've had a tough few years in other ways and physically I feel older so I don't really want to recreate the fun I had in my 20s! For me now fun is about friends, family, food and holidays. And I'll tell you, I have some big plans for when this damn pandemic's over!!!!

It's not what you do, it's how you do it.
You can have fun grooming the dog or you can see it as a chore.
You can put your music on and dance while you hoover or you can do it in a bad tempered grump of a mood.
It's obviously easier to have fun on a carribbean island but it's more feasible to just build it into everyday life.
I was cleaning the bin earlier, 21 year old DS was walking by, so I got him with the hose. He was well annoyed, epic water fight ensued we both ended up laughing.

I must be completely childish, becasue I find having a child (note child, not teen!), lots of fun. I've completely regressed. I get a huge amount of fun in things like: letting her put on her wellies and jump in enormous puddles, running for the ice cream van, day trips, holidays, Halloween, Christmas.

For adult fun, I love reading and losing myself in a good book, learning sonething new, talking and laughing with friends and family.

There is so much fun to be had, I hope some of these responses are tongue in cheek.

43 and bored op! I'm thinking it's lockdown. I think prior to covid I'd go out clubbing once every few months and that must have given me my fill.

Depends on what you call fun and what you are doing? Nothing to do with your age. The pandemic doesn't help.

I was cleaning the bin earlier, 21 year old DS was walking by, so I got him with the hose. He was well annoyed, epic water fight ensued grin we both ended up laughing.

Love it!

I suspect it depends on how self conscious we are.

Jumping up and down in puddles was terrific fun once, but I'd worry about what people would think if they saw me, how dirty and cold I'd be, how to get my dirty, wet clothes through the house to the washing machine - it's not fun any more. 😢

@DDIJ

All fun and enjoyment stops the day you finish university and then it is just drudgery and misery until you retire when you can do something fun.

@DDIJ I hate to tell you this but by the time you have been working 40+ years you are too knackered to have fun when you retire

I find covid to be the fun police to be honest.

I had some girlfriends over last Saturday night and we drank fizz and sang very badly with my kareoke machine. It was hilarious. None of us can sing a note but it didn't matter at all.

So you have a 3yo? I didn’t enjoy parenting toddlers much, was sleep deprived and had a bad time at work, which exacerbated a MH issue I have.

Have more good times now DC are older, get sleep, work is better and have more time for myself!

I think life feeling grey can sometimes be an indicator of struggling with current challenges - eg having little time, money, too much ‘drudge’ - and/or MH low points.

My big ones are:- Travel. Sometimes alone, sometimes with kids. UK and Europe. Annual cheap city break by myself. Cinema, theatre, exhibitions. Gigs. Nights out and dinners with friends. Days out with the children. Hiking, bouldering, mountain climbing and camping. Sport. Choir. Competitions. Work conferences in vibrant, fun cities. Hobbies.

I often find people are quick to complain but then just as quick to admit they don't actually do anything or like anything. Get online, find something fun near you and go and join in.

I’ve been having this exact same thought - where has the fun gone in my life? I’m 42 with 3 kids (7, 9 and 12) and have realised that life can become all about the stresses of family life, busy work, house projects etc. Obviously, I can and do have lovely times with my kids but I miss that (slightly hedonistic?) freedom of doing spontaneous fun things just for me. I’ve come to the conclusion that I have to consciously make space for fun and enjoyment and have started to build it back into everyday life. So small things, eg setting up a babysitting swap to go out for a meal to bigger things, like planning a weekend away with old uni friends. Still difficult to be spontaneous but I think it’s possible to inject fun back into life

I’m 40 and my idea of fun is eating a nice cake on my own in peace and watching something only I’ll enjoy on the TV whilst everyone else is out. Small pleasures and all that…..

I mean there’s a lot of bigger things, dreams and goals etc but day to day it’s the little things!

To be totally honest some of the above examples are childish and before I get jumped on I am NOT saying there is anything wrong with that but personally things I found fun as a child I don’t now I’m 40.

But I find enjoyment and pleasure and fun in lots of things. Coffee with friends, exercise, nature, my baby ds delight in discovering the world, keeping a home nice, gardening. I don’t need to run round a park yelling!