Publisher - June 2025

Photography by
Cassidy Dunn Photography

“We don’t stop playing because
we grow old.
We grow old because
we stop playing.”
— George Bernard Shaw

It’s summertime, and even if you work full-time, it’s time to play! I don’t mean call in hooky or goof-off at work, I mean shift your brain to a schools-out-for-summer mentality. If you’re a nine-to-fiver, thank nature and daylight savings time for giving us extra time to frolic after work, whether you want to garden a little, go for a beach walk, or get some afternoon sun at the neighborhood pool. June 20th is the Summer Solstice, when we will get 14 hours and 16 minutes of glorious daylight. That means even if you work eight hours that day, you still have a full 6 hours 16 minutes to play, enjoy, bask, and have some fun.

Summertime is all about fun—feeling free, going barefooted, riding bikes, grilling out, having a cold beverage, and taking time to enjoy life. Make sure you don’t miss out!

Have you ever thought about the fact that from the time we are born to around age 12 our No. 1 job is to play? How many times did my mother tell me to go outside and play? “In or out, Elizabeth. If you come in again, I’m going to make you stay in!” (No, thank you!) The neighborhood kids all gathered daily to ride bikes, skateboard, to play house or school, tag, Follow the Leader, Red Rover (my favorite) or play on the swing set. We put on shows, danced, sang, pretended to be movie stars, especially Cher. We put towels on our heads and flipped them back and forth like we had Cher hair and sung "They say our love won’t pay the rent” into our hairbrushes. (Thankfully, we didn’t know what that meant.)

Childhood is fun because we “get to” get out of our heads every day and escape into the world of play and imagination. I’ve never understood why everything we have known since birth is stripped away as tweens make that dreaded transition into puberty. Very little bike riding. No more playgrounds. No more hairbrush shows. No wonder teens turn to alcohol and drugs. We make them start over from ground zero right when acne breaks out all over their faces and awkward things start happening to their bodies—right when the need to escape and have fun is most imminent. At this point, any continued play is usually competitive, which often takes away the fun and piles on the expectations to be good.

True play is not about being good, and that’s why the need for play never ceases. However, the way we play changes. No matter what you consider play, it is important to give it credence in your life. True play helps balance out the hard parts of life, and as adults, we all know a lot of life is difficult.

Is it me, or does life seem to be so “extra” lately? Extra busy, extra tense, extra-long to-do lists, extra negative social media posts, extra things to tolerate, extra if-it-can-go-wrong-it-will, and even things that should be easy-peasy tend to turn into project-level tasks. Nothing takes ten minutes anymore. I find myself wanting to escape, not as in a week-long vacation, but more like a Calgon-take-me-away to a place where my responsibilities are minimized and good times and laughter are maximized for a very, very long time.

When my world starts crashing in on me, as I’m sure yours does occasionally, too, it becomes visible. My brow furrows and my car gets messy, both a sure sign I’m not doing well, and also a telltale sign I am overloaded and out of balance. Not only does my job require me to be creative, I also personally thrive on creativity. My brain is happy when I’m being silly, cracking jokes, imagining what ifs, and putting a comedic twist on the mundane. In order to do this, I need time to free think. I can’t free think when I’m bogged down in negativity or issues. I’m sure you can relate. So, sometimes I have to find a way to escape not only to come up with new and exciting ideas for the magazine, but also to just shift my brain and have peace. I spell relief—l-a-u-g-h!

Playing helps me release tension. I enjoy playing games and cards. It’s a time to relax and simply be. I ride my bike. I like the feeling of pedaling fast and feeling the wind in my face. Mind you, I’m not doing it for exercise or to win a race; I have no set route, time or pace. I’m doing it to feel free; I don’t want any restrictions. The other night I rode bikes in the dark with my sweetheart, as he lit the way with a flashlight for us. It was fun and adventurous.

My daughter Jacie and I rode our bikes to Dolphin Head Playground the other day to swing. It “took my stomach” when I leaned my head back and came up as I was flying forward just like it did when I was a child. I yelled, giggling to her, “That took my stomach!”

She asked me, “Mom, there was a study done, and do you know what almost every child’s favorite piece of playground equipment is?”

“Is it the swing?” I guessed.

“Yes,” she said. “It is the closest we ever come to flying, and it make us feel the most free.”

Feeling free. That is what I long for on a daily basis. Us adults get too tied up in adulthood and all the burdens that come with it. It’s not our fault. It’s kind of the march of the universe. However, when you get tired of the march and feel you can no longer stay in step, all you have to do is turn back your mental clock and play. There’s something about playing that takes you away far better than Calgon.

So, go on! It’s never too late to ask your friends if they can come out and play.

Think Pink,
Elizabeth Millen