Our family isn't really big on hobbies in general. Any hobbies we do have to have a purpose. My sister does scrapbooking and gardening. Scrapbooking preserves family pictures and memories. Gardening gives you a beautiful yard. We don't collect stamps or paint ugly pictures.
I'm not sure the old ones really have any hobbies, with or without a purpose. If a hobby is defined as: "an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hobby), then I guess their main hobby is watching TV. Grandma likes to know what is going on in the world so news channels are a favorite. It is ok that the stories repeat every hour; often it is all new to her. Dad is obsessed with the Weather channel. He likes the local weather on the eights or something. Never mind that this information is also on his iPad, weather station, a crawler on the TV or heck even gained sticking your head out the door. Mom likes a greater variety of things from
You could say that collecting things is a hobby. If so, my mother collects pens. She never wants to look for a pen so there are cups of them on most horizontal surfaces and handfuls in several drawers. They aren't nice pens either; they are the free ones you get around town. My Grandmother collects napkins and Kleenex. They are up her sleeves, in her pockets, under her pillow and stacked in neat piles by her favorite chair and on her dresser. Dad collects tools. If he can't find a tool or the one he is using doesn't work right away, he goes to buy a new one.
Maybe a hobby is doing things that make you happy. If you ask Grandma what makes her happy she would ask you why you are asking her that and you would never get a definitive answer. I guess most people would have a tough time saying exactly what makes them happy. So I'm just going to go with what seems to make them happy. What makes Mom happy is getting things done. At the end of they day she will reflect over the tasks that were completed and decide if it was a good or bad day. My dad has a couple of things that seem to make him happy. Telling people stories from his life is number one. Don't bother mentioning that you have heard it before, it won't stop him. He also likes to travel. Well not exactly the traveling itself, it is the planning, getting ready and telling others about his traveling that really seems to make him happy. Grandma is harder to read. She likes getting out and seeing things.
So what about me? If pressed I'd say that I like working with the beasts, updating the house and watching dramas on TV. I love driving my car, sleeping late and having beer club after work. If I were given some free time with no responsibilities, I would probably take up some frivolous pursuits but things need to get done.
So, like I said, we aren't a big hobby family. But we do seem to be enjoying ourselves so that's good. Leisure time is overrated anyway.
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