Play-Date!

About a decade ago, Deb and I planned to spend an afternoon together catching up. We stopped in the Noe Valley Walgreens to pick up something, because the Noe Valley Walgreens was her favorite Walgreens.  Whatevs.  While wandering and waiting, I saw that they had the Play-Doh Fun Factory on sale: two for six dollars. I thought about how much I always wanted one as a kid and while I loved and had Play-Doh as a kid I never got a Fun Factory with the exciting press thingie. I used to go up to Margaret's house to play with her Play-Doh Hair Salon (not us but might as well be) which would pump Play-Doh hair out of its patrons' heads.

It occurred to me, standing there staring wistfully at the Fun factory, that I was a grown-up now, and did in fact have more than six dollars in my pocket, and if I really wanted a Play-Doh Fun Factory, I could have one right now. I think of that moment as a flash of genius.

I bought two.

Errands done, Deb and I walked down to the Noe Valley Tully's, ordered our coffees and set up shop, as it were, at one of the tables. We had one of the best afternoons of our lives. It was great to catch up and tackle some of our life issues while keeping our hands busy. It was incredibly therapeutic and I think shrinks should use Play-Doh during therapy time. That, and Play-Doh is just fun. And you know what? You're allowed to mix the colors. That was another hurdle. As kids we were always told not to. But what is the worst case scenario here? Some blended colors that don't match their pre-described containers? Good Lord no wonder it's so hard to come out of the closet. We blended with abandon. And guess what? If we blend the Play-Doh too much, we can always get more! We can do that! We're grown-ups! That "stay inside the lines" thinking is ingrained in us early and deeply.

Not only did we have a blast, but we quickly became the coolest kids in Noe Valley. Adults stopped and asked what we were doing. Some were incredulous that we would sit in coffee shop with individual Play-Doh Fun Factories for no specific reason other than that it is fun. Some asked if they could play with us, and several joined us for five or ten minutes at a time before they had to resume their "real" lives and scoot off to wherever it was they were headed when they stopped in for coffee. Only one kid asked to play with us, which we thought was wonderfully bold and outgoing and we made him a rock star in the café if only ever so briefly.

Who would have though six dollars could have been so well spent?

After that afternoon, I started hoarding Fun Factories and giving them as birthday gifts, reminding my friends that even though they are aging they should still pay some love to that kid inside.

Deb is now a single mom living in San Rafael. We still love each other, but our visits are few and far-between. Deb made it to town for the Big Second Annual 39th Birthday Celebration, and we vowed to have some quality time soon. Six weeks later we had a mutually free afternoon and we set out to a coffee shop in San Rafael, with the 100-piece Super Play-Doh Fun Factory set she gave me for my 40th. San Rafaelites were less enthusiastic about our antics*, but two kids did ask us if we were playing with Play-Doh, which was obvious but at the same time confusing that two adults with no kids present would do so. We were happy to share.

(*although the reaction might have been to my higher-than-it-should-have-been volume when I recounted tales from the previous weekend's Folsom Street Fair and perhaps a far-too-audible reference to a cock ring.)

Do yourself a favor: call a friend, get a Fun Factory or two, and make a play date. Or rather a Play-Doh-Date. If your inner child is still active, you'll be surprised how much fun you can have. And ironically, cover a lot of adult issues in the conversation while you're inner kid is busy playing with your hands.


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