Planning for a hobby

We all have our habits, our rituals and our hobbies.

We all have a particular routine which we like to stick to.

We all have a preferred pattern of a day. 

Actually articulating it is less easier, but we all know when something is out of the rhythm that it feels a bit odd and, like me, you may try to quickly bring the day back to a certain normality. 

My day is filed with the following things:

Going to work

Now and again a trip to gym

Cooking on the weekends

Reading my book if it's an early night

Tidying the house 

Doing the washing and other such chores

Going out with friends

Checking Facebook and reading blogs

Texting and face timing/sky ping friends and family

Watching television

I think that list fills my weeks, months and years. 

Of course there are other things that creep in, like shopping, sending presents, ironing, garden work, doing a jigsaw, baking a cake, sorting out old things, visiting the school, flying away for the weekend, repairing the kids clothes, and the like, but the above is my staple. 

My life, like yours, is pretty full with the staple activities. Once these have been done and taken care of there isn't much time left.

Herein lies my musing for the day.  I find when I am in that rare situation that I have time and energy left over after fulfilling all my staples, I find myself at a loss.

It is in these moments, I wish I had a hobby.  I imagine that if I knitted, or played the piano, maybe that would be the thing I would turn to.  Instead, in absence of that hobby, I do more of the staple.  I tidy some more, watch more television or give someone a call.

It is in these moments, I panic (well mildly).  I wonder what it will be like when the kids have gone, when weekends are quiet and there are no bedrooms to sort, no bags of clothes to recycle, no games to play and no parks to go to.  Will I need to find something new to do? Will my staple not be enough?

So my thought for the day, is do we need hobbies?

Do you have one?

Do I have one?

Do I need one?

Do I need to plan for one?

Or am I overdoing this, and actually there will always be enough to do.

Thoughts anyone?