Eutrapalia

I did a search for this virtue and found about 12 hits. Twelve hits? This is an amazing "virtue" and noone has written exhaustively about it? I will now be lucky hit number thirteen. In a quick scan of the sites where eutrapalia is found I learned that it was a virtue discussed by St. Thomas and a vice if used by late night talk show hosts. What am I talking about? The virtue of playtime and humor. I found it referred to in a poem as such: "Long neglected in the listing- Mainfested through the playing At appointed time for resting: Games, and walking, even dancing- Yes, we speak of recreation! So Thomistic: Eutrapalia." And yet another blogger, Father Sibley, writes that a lack of eutrapalia is a vice! So, it is quickly becoming my favorite virtue and one I hope to master. I think we are born with this virtue and somehow lose it along the way as we seek to achieve a clean house, well-behaved children, or a stellar curriculum vitae. I think I will start to work on this virtue as soon as I have mopped the floor, made dinner, and prepared my next art therapy presentation. Oh, and I will let the kids continue their virtuous life of play as soon as their room is clean. Hope I made you smile. Have a great play day.