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The Friday Five

Have a Wild Rumpus Day

By Merrilyn Astin Tarlton

Are you, too, remembering Maurice Sendak this week? Perhaps reliving the deliciously scary times you spent Where the Wild Things Are? Recalling bedtimes when you snuggled with your little one and a well-worn copy of In the Night Kitchen? Then this Friday Five is for you! We declare today “Wild Rumpus Day” at Attorney at Work, and invite you to rediscover your inner child. (Let’s see … where did I put her?) Come on, indulge in a little purposeless, passionate, non-goal-oriented but very important Friday nonsense. Just for the fun of it!

Baby Yourself, You Deserve It

Everyone needs to be a child now and then, even if it’s only to see your grown-up life from a fresh perspective.

1. Be curious. Remember mixing all the kitchen cupboard’s contents just to see what you got? Melting crayons in the sun? Vinegar and baking soda volcanoes? Do something you’ve never done before. Play. Experiment to find the answer. Mess around. Do something “uncool” just to see what happens. Some of the best discoveries are made after you stop being all serious and start being all reckless about it. Take the Slow Mo Guys, for example. Is that a … Whoopie Cushion?

2. Be outrageous. But in a nice way, of course. Now you’re an adult and there’s no one around but convention to enforce proper etiquette rules, maybe it’s time to inject a sense of humor into your electronic exchanges. Mashable feature writer Christine Erickson offers a wonderful selection of animated GIFs for that very purpose. There’s nearly one for every occassion.

3. Be adventurous. Put your newspaper to it’s highest and best use then head out on a journey of discovery. You don’t have to traverse the Tetons, maybe just the path to that coffee house you’ve been meaning to visit, or the local nursery’s aisles of spring garden arrivals. The child in you grows weary of the same old routine and the same old scene, so “second star to the right, and straight on till morning!”

4. Be loud. That’s right, why not shout it out? Or better yet, have a really good howl. If you’re going to take this rumpus thing seriously, it should be of little concern what people think of you. So grab one of your pals, go outdoors, throw your head back and HOWL like a coyote. There are few things as wildly liberating. Even the coyotes do it just for the sheer joy of it sometimes.

5. Be a love. Remember your mom on Mothers Day this Sunday—all the best kids do. Whether it’s an elegant brunch, something handmade or just volunteering to take over some of the chores, make your mom feel loved. And if you’re a mom yourself, get together with your progeny and “let the wild rumpus begin!”  

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Categories: Daily Dispatch, Friday Five, Playtime
Originally published May 11, 2012
Last updated June 1, 2020
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Merrilyn Astin Tarlton Merrilyn Astin Tarlton

Merrilyn is the author of “Getting Clients: For Lawyers Starting Out or Starting Over.” She has been helping lawyers and law firms think differently about the business of practicing law since 1984. She is a founding member of the Legal Marketing Association, an LMA Hall of Fame inductee, and a past President of the College of Law Practice Management. Merrilyn was a founding partner of Attorney at Work. 

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