Sometimes I wish w all could enjoy the simple things in life the way children often do.

I had the chance to spend some time with several young relatives last week, and I had a lot of fun doing almost nothing at all. We didn’t need to go anywhere special — the home of my brother and sister-in-law, Larry and Marie Compston was the perfect setting for little cousins to play with one another, eat some yummy snacks and just be kids.

Our group consisted of myself, Larry and Marie, my nephew Zach and his son Simon, nephew Jim, his wife Jordan and their girls Zadie and Tessa, as well as my step-nephew Brett Blevins, his wife Amy and their baby Theo. Theo is just a couple of months old and spent much of the day napping. Simon is 1 1/2, while Tessa is 3 and Zadie is 7. Together — and sometimes apart — those three all had a good time.

Tessa and Simon spent quite a little while playing together in a miniature ball pit while Zadie petted the dog and interacted a bit more with the adults. Sometimes she facilitated Tessa and Simon’s fun, tossing balls back into the enclosure for them or joining them for a few minutes of romping around.

When Tessa felt like it was time to settle down for a little while, she started carrying books to me so that she could climb on my lap and have me read those stories to her.

A few minutes later, she flipped her energy switch back on. The next thing I knew, she and I were getting in trouble for being to rough while playing “football” together. She got a little carried running away while running away from me with the ball and ended up taking a spill. That put an end to that game.

Coloring was next on the agenda for the girls, while Simon tested the limits of what he could and could not do without getting scolded.

All in all, it was a fun and pleasant day that probably left most of us ready for a nap.

Being around several children at once reminded me how important it is to give yourself a break from “adulting” every once in a while. If we don’t have distractions from the tasks at hand — work responsibilities, laundry, house cleaning, running errands, grocery shopping, helping friends and neighbors and so on — we can sort of lose track of ourselves, our goals and how we can reach them.

Simply sitting in the corner of a couch reading stories out loud one after another is a perfectly good use of time on a Saturday afternoon. So is sitting down with more serious reading material, such as a novel or a newspaper.

Taking the day as it comes once in a while is reinvigorating, too. Don’t overplan your life. You don’t have to have an agenda for every minute of every day.

Instead, try to remember what it was like to be a kid. What did you enjoy most? What was your favorite game? Where was your favorite place?

Maybe, if you try, you can escape to that place again — at least in you memories.