Monday, January 30, 2012

Making Time for the Outdoors.

We are all busy.  Everyone has jobs, family, work, cleaning, bills and things that just have to get done.

Yes, it is certainly cliche, but those things will be there later too.

One of the most difficult parts of getting outside is just getting out the door.  Believe me, I know.  With two kids, it is not unusual for it to take me 45 (FORTY-FIVE!) minutes to get out the door.  Snowsuits, hats, meltdowns, gloves, pacifiers, meltdowns, snacks, KLEENEX! (I have had that yelled at me a lot lately as we fight colds), CHANGE ME! (another fun one), meltdowns, bribes, meltdowns and a huge sigh as we all tumble out the door.
How can it be possible to have time to get outside every day (yes, I even ask myself this question...daily)?  And again, I will say, how is it NOT possible to make the time (for the good of all involved?)  It makes us happier as a family. 

Last Friday we planned a family hike/walk for as soon as Mountain Papa got home for work.  My job was to have myself and the kids ready to walk out the door when he arrived (again, not an easy feat.)  His job was to be home before dark.
We both carried a kid (thank you, Kelty and Deuter!) and spent 45 minutes in the badlands behind our home.  As a couple it gave us some time to decompress from the day (between talking with J and fielding his questions and comments, of course.)  It gave the boys some fresh air and chance to just watch (or sleep).  We are blessed to have such a landscape behind us, but there is certainly nothing wrong with a family walk around the neighborhood (and we have certainly done this too!)

Yes, I should have been making dinner (or planned well enough in advance to have that dinner ready to go.)  Yes, dinner was late.  Yes, I nearly gave up and decided fighting the meltdowns wasn't worth it.  But, the truth is we never regret being out there and things (almost) always calm down once we are.

How do you fit it in?  How do you make getting outside happen amidst the craziness of life? Any tips to share?
Posted by at 6:00 AM
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10 comments:

  1. JaysonJanuary 30, 2012 at 7:47 AM

    It's a tremendous task for us to get outside everyday. Luckily if it is above 0 degrees my son gets outside twice a day for recess. The wife and I get outside as we talk to and from the car and the bus. I suppose if we walked slowly we might get 15 min of outdoor time! We usually have to schedule hikes on Saturday mornings. We purpose ourselves to get up early and do house chores, then wake up the young one and head out, catching that sleep in the form of a nap. We've found that it HAS to be IMPORTANT for it to happen or else you keep pushing it back. Thanks for a great post.

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    1. Mountain MamaJanuary 30, 2012 at 9:50 AM

      Jayson - love how you said it HAS to be important. And SOOO very easy to push it back (just like exercise and other great habits!)

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  2. Calgary MomJanuary 30, 2012 at 9:27 AM

    Being outdoor nuts, we try and get outside everyday and while this takes some juggling it's worth it for us. Here would be my tips.
    1. Do what's right for you and your family - if it's not right it won't work.
    2. If it's important make it a priority.
    3. Make sure everyone has the appropriate clothing and gear.
    4. Ignore that voice of your head that says "I should be doing __________" (laundry, organizing the basement, cleaning the bathroom, making dinner - it'll still be there later).
    5. Be flexible - sometimes conditions make it necessary to change plans.
    6. Most importantly have FUN - if not what's the point.

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  3. Mountain MamaJanuary 30, 2012 at 9:51 AM

    Great tips! And yea, that voice can be SUPER loud!!! :)

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  4. Calgary MomJanuary 30, 2012 at 9:55 AM

    Yeah, it's Monday morning and I have a long list of tasks to do (without the hubby's help)... but I can look back and say that we had a fantastic weekend outside!

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  5. vlk40January 31, 2012 at 9:21 AM

    I wish I would have done more of this when my kids were small- don't get me wrong- we got out a lot. But not everyday in the winter. I used to get exhausted just THINKING of putting on all the snow gear haha. We still had fun when we did. And I love the area you live in- everytime we drive by there on our way to Brooke's lake or Jackson we think how nice it would be to have a home looking at those badlands!

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    1. Mountain MamaJanuary 31, 2012 at 2:56 PM

      I totally do the same thing: get exhausted thinking about getting all that gear on (especially if we are only out there for less than an hour!) And yes, I am totally a "wetter weather" gal (I miss green and big trees ALL the time) but those badlands sure are beautiful! I can't complain!!!

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  6. Shellyrm ~ just a country runnerJanuary 31, 2012 at 2:00 PM

    Love your photos today. Such great smiling faces! That alone shows your daily trips outside are worth it. With the longer daylight hours (and frankly unbelievably warm weather), our family has been enjoying more outdoor time too. It is always worth it!

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    1. Mountain MamaJanuary 31, 2012 at 2:54 PM

      Shelly, thank you! :) And yes, I agree the longer daylight hours makes a HUGE difference. 50 degrees here today. WEIRD! Maybe we won't need all that firewood afterall....

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  7. Cheree MooreMay 21, 2012 at 8:50 AM

    We have just recently made our return to hiking, post having our first baby. It is definitely a struggle, but worth it to be outside doing what we love. I wrote a very similar post to this last month about making the time to do what we love.

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