Learn Something New!

            Think back to elementary school. You are in fourth grade Math class and your teacher writes two daunting words on the board: “Long division.” Sighs and groans spread throughout the room. But then, like the sight of the sun on a cloudy day, your teacher says, “Don’t worry. Learning can be fun.” At the time, you sneakily roll your eyes and chalk it up to another adult’s skewed view on the world, but now, years later, it turns out (as has proven true much more than once) your teacher knew what she was talking about. Learning can, in fact, be fun. If you can commit yourself to learning just one new thing per weekend, you will find the reward to be great.

            Don’t get down on yourself thinking you now need to sign up for Introduction to Astrophysics at your local college--although that would certainly be something to be proud of.  Make it simple. Search online or at the community center for classes much less time consuming (and brain busting).  You could learn to cook a new dish each week. You could learn a new language or a new instrument. Hardware stores often offer free classes (bonus!) teaching painting or carpentry techniques. Taking part in these can help you meet new people and start marking items of the To-Do List. Finishing the downstairs bathroom? Check! Providing shelter for birds in your backyard? Check!  Interacting with the other eager participants provide you with a great opportunity to meet people. One new name is still something learned.

            If you aren’t looking to be the next Emeril or Tim “the Toolman” Taylor, that’s fine too. Check out your local library. The people there are more than willing to make a friend and share their abundant knowledge.  Make it your goal to learn one new fact each week about the area where you live.  Then, you can take your friends and family on a personal tour and share all that fresh knowledge that is just waiting to be spread! Whether learning to speak French or a new French toast recipe, whether learning the names of all the countries in the world or just the names of ten of your neighbors, the result is the same. You are learning. And in the process you have made more great memories and met more great people to add to your list. So swallow your pride, and start by learning your Fourth grade Math teacher’s address so you can write her a thank you letter.

Find a Great Deal!

            The “discount-deal” e-mail sites that have become so popular as of late are a great way to find out about new things to do and places to go in your area. Trying something new is a sure way to create relationships and memories. And what better way to do that than at a discounted rate? The sites do include restaurant offers, but munching on a foreign delicacy is not necessarily the only way to be adventurous. Some other offers include horseback riding, wine tastings, dinner cruises, dance classes, art showings, and on and on. The options are endless! You could easily fill up your 52 Weekends on one e-mail alone.

            However, if you are looking not to spend any money (not a bad goal!), you can still make these sites work for you. Use them to give you ideas of things to do. For instance, if you do not want to pay $45 for a salsa-dance lesson for two, that’s okay. Call up your friends, crank up your stereo, and have a backyard dance party. There are sure to be several attendees willing to teach the other guests all their best moves. You don’t have to spend money to have a good time. What you do need to do, though, is get moving. Make your own fun. If you have the money to spend, go for it. If not, even better. Creativity is limitless. Whether it’s horseback riding or hobby-horse racing, visiting an art gallery or making a sidewalk chalk mural with the neighborhood kids, it’s the fun you have and the memories you create that make it worth it.

Be the 'Cool Kid'

One way to get the most out of your 52 Weekends Together is to keep a record. This doesn’t mean you have to rush to the craft store and get a fancy scrapbook. Unless, of course, you already have one. In which case, scrap away! But, if you are lacking in that department, don’t fear. The 52 Weekends pocket books have lines provided for you to do just that. However you go about it, Make it work for you.  Use a sheet of notebook paper, write in a journal, if you’re really tech savvy, you could even create a video blog (which is sure to impress your friends!).  documenting your experiences will allow you a way to look back on just how far you’ve come from Weekend 1. And it is important to make use of them because documenting your experiences will allow you a way to look back on just how far you’ve come from Weekend 1. Keep track of the places you go, the things you do, and the people you meet (no name? no problem—“kind man who helped me find my seat” will suffice). Take pictures! Your companions’ smiling faces will be the best testament to the memories made throughout your journey.    

Admittedly, it is much easier to log onto your computer, Google “Himalayan adventure,” push the Enter key, and begin exploring through the various search results than to save up thousands of dollars, purchase various survival kits, hire a mountain man tour guide, and take months off of work to experience your own, but in the end, what have you come away with? Photographs other people have taken, knowledge other people have gathered, and a sense of wonder that there are some really ambitious people out there. Okay, Himalayan adventures may be a bit of a dramatic start, but the point is this: it is very easy in this day and age to let other people experience things for you. But then, you are just observing the world around you, rather than being a part of it.

Instead of searching for information online, you can be the source. Think how much cooler your kids will think you are if you take them to actually see your college football team play, rather than just telling them about how much fun you used to have at the games. Think how much more fun your friends will have with you by taking them to see your favorite band play, rather than just continually playing a CD for them when riding in your car. At the end of the day, you will have one more memory made, one more relationship strengthened, and one more entry for your record. 

So, Why 52 Weekends?

            Complete the phrase: People who _____________ together, stay together. Raise your hand if you said “play”. You are correct! It’s an age-old adage, but what does it truly mean? It’s simple, really. Getting up, going out, and doing things is the key to fun, memory making relationships. Whether with a friend, a spouse, your son or your daughter, the most fun to be had does not come from plugging something in but by trying something out. 

This is the aim of 52 Weekends Together. Look at it as a challenge. Instead of coming home on a Friday night, renting a movie, ordering a pizza and calling it a night, per your usual routine, find a dive-y Italian restaurant and a local theatre that shows the classics.  Casablanca and a heaping pile of spaghetti always make for a good time! Try it one weekend, and that’s all it will take. Sunday evening, ask yourself: How many new people did I meet? How many new things did I see? And most importantly, how many new memories did I make? The answer will surprise you. Now, multiply that by 52. Not a Math buff? That’s okay. The answer is simple: At the end of one year, you will have met many more people, done many more things, and made many more memories than you can imagine.  Ready to take on the challenge? Then let this weekend be the first, the one that starts it all.