Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time?

My interest in hobbies or activities ebbs and flows over time. I don’t generally lose interest in the actual activities ever, but I do lose the joy I experience from them from time to time depending on the level of depression I’m experiencing. The loss of joy is often referred to as anhedonia or the lack of pleasure. The cost of the activity often is a deterrent on regular upkeep of the participation too.

I love horse riding but I don’t own a horse, nor have the means to keep a horse. Maybe one day… I can only dream.

I love tenpin bowling but time constraints and Steve’s cancer journey got in the way of that.

The other hobbies I enjoy to do include reading, writing, knitting, crocheting, ballroom dancing, and listening to music.

Reading is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I always feel as though I should be reading my CPA text books and studying. I have recently listened to a few audiobooks though in the break from study over Christmas so I have taken time for myself. I find audiobooks easier as I can knit or crochet at the same time. It’s harder to read physical books while following a pattern when doing yarn art. I do have a self care bath with a wine and a good book on my to do list for Saturday’s but I have to start back into my routine again after Steve’s passing.

Writing is something I love to do. It helps me process good and bad things in my life. I have been blogging here for a while but took some time away for the last six months of Steve’s life. Life was not easy and I was having trouble functioning outside of the caring role I took on for my husband. It was hard to release emotions when all I seemed to do was go through the motions of the day and collapse exhausted in bed every night. I also did not sleep well as Steve was very sick and I would have to attend to his needs at all hours of the night, but I still don’t sleep well and writing during the waking hours helps to settle my hyperactive brain.

Knitting is something I have been doing on and off since I was 17. My Nan taught me how to knit when I was pregnant with my first son and I taught myself fancy stitches on top of the basic knit and purl stitches she taught me. I have made some beautiful pieces in my time but occasionally I stop due to life circumstances. I didn’t knit after my Dad kicked out my second husband in 2007 but I took it back up when Steve and I moved to Canberra in 2021.

I stopped knitting the vest in 2022 as I was having problems with my neck being painful after a car accident Steve and I were involved in in 2020 but by the time I took up yarn art again, Steve had lost a lot of weight due to cancer and the vest would no longer fit him at the size I had started knitting it at.

In November of 2023, I decided I wanted to learn how to crochet. I repurposed the wool from the vest and turned it into a textured blanket for Steve’s lap. My friend sent me a youtube video and I watched it in slow motion to teach myself the art. My daughter and I also joined a knitting circle and we would take time out for a couple of hours a week to be around other knitters and crocheters.

The ballroom dancing was another lifetime ago. I started when I was 16 and I got up to Oscar level in my awards. My favourite part of awards was getting the mark of honours and being told I had a lovely frock. I didn’t have a smart phone back in 1998 so there is no digital evidence of it. Mobile phones were just starting to come out then and you couldn’t even text another carrier service at that stage. Yes, I am older than google!

Listening to music is something I will always do because it soothes my soul. Whether it be rap, RnB, or hip hop, or the organ in the church on Sundays, or ballroom dancing music, I love the melody, rhythm, and beats and they sustain my existence.

I did once have a hobby of collecting business cards though. My God Sister did it and I thought it was cool. I used to have shoe boxes full of business cards I have collected but I got to the point where I wanted a decluttered life and house so I decided they had to go. I still have business cards in my house, mostly of important contacts and they’re pinned on cork boards, but I no longer collect them for fun.

I will always have hobbies I come and go to, but I do not lose interest in them entirely. I just cannot do them all at once.

For now, I will leave you with this quote:

“Life and love go on. Let the music play.”

Johnny Cash

Until tomorrow, KT18Ø.