What 1000 Hours Outside Means to Me
1000 hours outside?
What a tall order!
What a tall order!
I've dabbled in being outdoorsy
and I value being outdoors
and I know it's good for the soul
but as a family, we've never spent
anywhere near 1000 hours outside
in a year's time
Tracking is highly motivating for me
and when we had logged "only" 311 hours
by the end of May,
we kicked it into gear
to finish the halfway point in the year
at an even 500 hours
By November's end,
we reached 1000.
Here on the other side,
what does 1000 hours outside
mean to me?
It means front yard hours...
of waving to neighbors (and random delivery people)
racing trikes
and reading to each other in various combinations
It means backyard hours...
of playing on the swingset
exploring the ice from freezing temperatures
and creating obstacle courses
It means forest hours...
of blazing new trails
throwing rocks in the creek
and taking a night hike with luminaries
It means park hours...
of discovering new playgrounds
running around empty skate parks and labyrinths
and making a leaf pile without using rakes
It means walking hours...
of going to the back neighborhood and swinging on the "neighborhood swing"
stopping to get Wendy's, Domino's, snow cones, donuts, or ice cream
and persevering on our two hour walk to Mamaw and Papaw's house
It means camping hours...
of spotting a toad while setting up our tent
singing "I was lying in my sleeping bag and couldn't get to sleep..."
and exploring the grounds
It means water hours...
of creating elaborate sand fortresses at the lake
jumping into a backyard pool
and playing in the sprinkler
It means inside-out hours...
of taking meals...
and church...
and schoolwork outside
It means embracing
all weather (Did you know that bubbles land un-popped on wet surfaces?)
all seasons (Did you know that playgrounds are way less crowded in the winter?)
all times of day (Did you know that your eyes adjust to the dark
and you don't really need a flashlight?)
It means not automatically going inside when it starts raining
It means not ruling out a picnic just because it's icy
It means lingering a little longer after the sun sets
It means "one more hour"
and forcing outdoor time
when they say they'd rather watch TV
It means vacations and driveways
waterfalls and dirt
laughter and complaint
awe-inspiring and ordinary
It means quality time alone and together
memories captured by camera
and by mental picture
It means courage to try new things
and perseverance to keep going
and creativity to make something new out of that same stick
It means dealing with sunburns and scrapes
muddy shoes and moody sons
bug bites and brother fights
It means rolling/sliding/sledding down hills
splashing in puddles
and digging in the dirt
It means rescuing worms on the sidewalk after a rain
discovering the exoskeleton of a crawdad along the shoreline
and watching the baby goats grow up all year at the orchard
It means rubbing the lemongrass on our fingers and smelling the citrus scent
feeling the telltale fuzz of a lamb's ear leaf
and learning to identify the white bark of a sycamore tree
It means letting kids explore and play and BE
It means sometimes everything is picture-perfect
and sometimes tree branches fall on the swingset
Through it all...
We're forever changed by our 1000+ hours outside in 2021
soaking in this beautiful world God designed for us
to explore and enjoy
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