Right now, at this moment, we are experiencing what I consider to be the perfect time of year. The weather is waffling in a very Southern-like fashion, providing us with tempting glimpses of the summer to come, but we haven’t taken that nose dive into the misery of summer heat. We are perched quite nicely on days filled with sunshine, breezes, and coolness that only require the lightest of jackets.
This spring, which I hope will live long and prosper, I have two goals in mind: To get the kids outside and to get myself outside with them.
I’m not always the most outdoorsy person as I tend to get comfortable inside with my lace pillow and some Korean Drama on TV. My fear of spiders does not help, of course. However, this spring — and grudgingly summer — I plan to get outside my comfort zone so I can encourage myself and the girls to have healthier minds and bodies.
How will I do this?
One way is that I’m just going to start saying “yes” to my friends and family who are more outdoorsy. When they say, “We are going on a hike! Do you want to come?,” I’m going to swallow that automatic, “No, thanks,” followed by the x, y, and z excuse and just say, “Sure! Let’s do it!” So my besties, I’m looking at you. Please don’t give up on me, and let’s start adventuring.
This will hopefully provide that little bit of the peer pressure I need to make myself get started. We are so lucky here in Chattanooga to be surrounded by so much natural beauty, which is so very accessible to us. I am so tired of missing out on it. So, my Just Say Yes Policy will hopefully be a secret weapon this spring and summer.
The other way I am going to encourage myself to be on the go and less entrenched in my house, will seem sort of geeky, because…well…it is very geeky. I’ve redownloaded Pokemon Go, and will use the allure of “Catching Them All” to get myself walking on the trails behind our house. The girls and I can Pokemon our way through the 10,000 daily steps I need to be making for a healthier me. Perhaps this is an example of technology helping rather than hurting? Or maybe that’s just me hoping. Either way, the allure of finding the largest Ponyta is my second master plot for getting outside.
If you have any other ideas I might use to get past being scared of outside and stuck with an inside mindset, please let me know! I’d love to hear about how you keep yourselves engaged with the outdoors.
