Most people who don't understand the attraction to a hobby like this usually have no hobbies of their own. They really have no clue.
This, I feel, is the key to dealing with people when you have almost any type of hobby. People are have another hobby, generally can understand the motivation even if they don't share it.
For example, I take my WW2 Jeep to to two local car shows each summer in most years. While I have no interest in hot rods, I can appreciate the motivation and work from those who have them.
I would assume that if anyone gives any of us a hard time about 'playing with trains' has nothing in their life to compare it to.
I'm married to someone like that, she has no real deep interests in life for anything, so therefore she doesn't understand hobbies in general and usually make denegrating comments about them overall. She refers to anything hobby-related I do as 'playing' which I understand to be her method of derision of the concept.
I've reminded her on several occasions that if:
- I'm not a minor
- I'm not an actor in a role
- I'm not involved in any kind of sport or competition,
Then, it's not playing.
