National Poetry Day: Let’s Talk About Play (Yes, Even as Adults) 🎉

lavinia may
Oct 2
2 min read

Micro-moments of fun for calmer minds and closer bonds.

Remember when “play” meant inventing games with a stick, a puddle, and zero health & safety forms? These days, play can feel… impractical. There’s email. There’s laundry. There’s that group chat you’ve muted (again). And still - our brains crave play like our phones crave a charger.

Today’s theme for National Poetry Day is play. So here’s a friendly nudge to bring more lightness into a very serious world.

Why play matters (especially now)

Stress resets: Play lowers stress hormones and helps us “shake off” the day.
Connection glue: Shared laughter turns “me vs. you” into “us vs. the problem.”
Creativity fuel: Play switches the brain from “fix-it mode” to “imagine-and-try” mode.
Micro-dose friendly: You don’t need a full afternoon. Try 3–5 minutes.

Quick ways to invite play today

Gamify a chore: Set a 3-minute timer and see how much you can tidy. Beat your score tomorrow.
Swap roles: If you’re coupled, read the other person’s text aloud in your best nature-documentary voice.
Tiny dares: Wrong-hand toothbrush challenge. Inside-out socks day. Haiku while the kettle boils.
Mini-sillies: One dance move while waiting for the microwave. One doodle instead of doomscrolling.
Curiosity date: Ask, “What would this look like if it were 10% more fun?”

A small poem for your very big day

Play, Rebootby Lavinia May

We grew up, filed edges, made tidy lists,

learned to say “busy” like it’s a compliment.

But a laugh leaks out at the wrong moment

a feral bubble

and suddenly the day has elbows again.

We remember:how a spoon can be a microphone,

how a hallway is a catwalk,

how two people can speak fluent eyebrow

and solve nothing, yet feel everything soften.

Not every hour needs a spreadsheet.

Not every step needs a destination.

Let the small sillinesses in -

the clumsy rhyme, the cartoon sigh,

the dance you only do from the waist up.

Call it a pocket of air in the tight jar.

Call it oxygen.

Call it the exact space where love thinks:

“Oh, there you are. I can breathe again.”

For couples (and close humans) ❤️

Two truths and a goofy: Share two true things about your day and one ridiculous non-fact. Guess the fake.
Inside joke bank: Start one today; spend it freely in tense moments.
30-second handshake: Invent it together. Use it after disagreements to mark “fresh page.”

For solo days 🌱

Playful pacing: Walk like you’re in a 90s music video for 20 seconds.
Micro-art: Draw the worst self-portrait you can. Pin it. Apologise to no one.
Permission slip: “I’m allowed to be 10% less efficient and 50% more alive.”

Catchy takeaway 🎁

Add 3 minutes of play today - your nervous system will thank you, your creativity will high-five you, and your relationships will breathe easier.

I appreciate you reading. If this offered a helpful nudge, pass it on to someone who might find it useful as well. That’s how we look after each other.

Thanks for being here. See you soon.

With gratitude,

Lavinia

Psychotherapist & Curious Human