by December M
I’ve just come back from a few days away – an extra long weekend to relax, unwind and re-energise. I need it because I know what’s coming. It’s Christmas! And while Christmas can offer joys untold with miracles and magic, it can also be a time of utter stress and aggravation.
I’ll be visiting family this year, which is never simple, and never easy. It involves a lot of travelling, thrown together sleeping arrangements, arguing over the bathroom, and living out of a suitcase. There’s always too much food but never enough of the healthier options. Far too much alcohol, but you always run out of softdrink. And while the nieces and nephews have grown into wonderful young adults, they’ll still eat too much, too quickly and feel ill yet refuse to go to bed early on Christmas Eve.
It just seems to be the way Christmas is.
So prior to facing this wonderfully paradoxical disaster/lovefest, I took the opportunity for a few days of downtime. And it was heaven. Bliss. Utopia. I stayed in a rainforest retreat with a large swimming pool and adjacent day spa. I took time to venture out and visit the beauty of the area and go boating on the rivers, dining at exotic places and generally having a sleep-in every single day.
I rarely connected to the Internet, preferring to go ‘analogue’ for a few days – the mobile phone rarely rang so I left that behind. The clocks were turned off. No music – merely the sound of birds squawking and the rustle in the undergrowth of little animals. I used the barbaric system of paper and pens, or walking to reception to order room service. I ditched the camera on a number of occasions, to just have me communing with Mother Nature.
Yet there were two things I really really missed. The first was my dog (who had stayed behind with a friend) but the other was far more surprising. I missed playing games. I had borrowed my husband’s laptop and connected to the on-again/off-again internet available but didn’t take any games to play. After all, it’s not my computer, so I couldn’t really install a bunch of stuff on it… that would be a bit rude, yes?
So there I was, sitting in heaven, completely stumped. No quick round of SkipBo, no chance to play Bejeweled 3, no time to spend agonising over Text Twist 2. No hidden object games, no time management, no ball poppers. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip.
And although I loved my holiday and time away, I was eternally grateful for being able to play games online. I would strike up a new connection and gingerly explore the online game websites and managed to get a few rounds of gaming in, before the connection would die again. I was able to play the games I love to play without the hassle of needing to download and install anything. And although when at home I am the compulsive downloader, while on holiday it really suited me being able to just play online. As it suited me. When it suited me.
Games have always been a great way to switch off the madness of the world, and when coupled with a fabulous few days break, emphasised how crucial some time-out was, especially this close to the craziness of Christmas. So if you don’t find the opportunity to get some downtime, some alone time, some oh-my-goodness-i’m-gonna-scream time, then consider visiting an online game site and see if that doesn’t help you to recharge those batteries. You can find Club Casual Games’ online section right here.
