Thing Number Twenty-Seven | Hobby

Elementary School:  reading (e.g., The Chronicles of  Narnia, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiller)  |  playing the piano  |  collecting stickers (mostly Sanrio; we kept them in sticker books we’d made from waxed paper)  |  collecting jelly bracelets  |  collecting charms for our plastic 80’s charm necklaces

Junior High:  reading (e.g., Sweet Valley High, Choose Your Own Adventure)  |  playing the piano  |  talking to boys

High School:  reading (e.g., Agatha Christie, any teen romance I could get my hands on)  |  playing the piano  |  cross-stitching (I made Christmas stockings for Ann and me)  running (not sure it was a hobby but I lettered in cross country and track)  |  flirting  |  dating  |  collecting all the “designer” clothes I could convince my parents to buy  |  taping favorite songs from the radio

College:  reading (e.g., Ngaio Marsh, The Lord of the Rings)  |  playing the piano  |  scrapbooking (I just popped my photos and ephemera into those horrible “magnetic” albums where the adhesive turned yellow and added some journaling on bits of stationery)  |  cross-stitching (I made an elaborate sampler for Mom and Dad as a thank you for putting me through college) | flirting  |  dating  |  falling in love  |  developing my own style  |  making mix tapes  |  baking cookies

Adult:  reading (e.g., Harry Potter, Josephine Tey, CJ Box, Jon Krakauer)  |  playing the piano  |  archival scrapbooking (ahhhh, so much better than before)  |  dating my husband  |  staying in love  |  shopping (bad hobby, bad, bad, bad)  |  playing with my dog  |  baking 5 minute artisanal bread  |  organizing

Some hobbies change, some stay the same….