My husband had hobbies. My kids had activities. Somehow, I only had laundry.

The author became a mom at 19 and didn't have any hobbies. Courtesy of the author I became a mother at 19 and spent much of adulthood focused on my family. At 35, I challenged myself to try 35 new things, from hiking to embroidery. I'm learning that hobbies don't have to be productive or profitable to be worthwhile. My husband looked at the towels spread across our back porch. "Why paper making?" My 13-year-old didn't even hesitate. " Paper is so cheap ," he said. I had spent nearly two hours on my knees on the hot concrete, scooping watery paper pulp into a frame, sponging out the excess water, and laying each fragile sheet onto a towel as if I were preserving ancient documents. Instead, it looked like wet, nasty oatmeal. Just as I finally stood up, my hip bumped the bucket, and over she went.