On playing outside

Hannah requested we go outside today. I don't really remember the last time she asked.

It's funny. Of late, I have not thought of myself as a particularly outdoorsy person. In the past year (or two!), we have done more tv watching than I care to admit. As we were playing outside today, I was thinking of all the things my siblings and I did outside as kids. When I was really young and we were living in California, we would spend hours outside - chasing chickens around the backyard, working in the garden, digging "streams" with the hose, riding bikes on the patio...the possibilities seemed endless. When we moved to Colorado we lived for a year out here in the forest before moving into town. We had an "Indian Camp" complete with teepees made out of small fallen trees and old sheets. We also built a stage by nailing boards between two trees and throwing sheets over it for curtains. We would take our old red wagon and give each other "tours" around the five acres. When we did move to town, I would spend hours in my garden.

So, not only have I been missing the outside, I've been missing my own creativity!

When I got pregnant with Hannah and then had to recover from the c-section, it changed the way I related to the outside. Suddenly everything seemed uncomfortable and full of germs. Even the way I moved seemed to change. Does anybody else relate to this? I became an old lady! :)

Add to all of this a dumb fear I have always had of looking silly or undignified, and you have a recipe for someone who does not spend much time outside. I think one of the most profound things on TV is Bert and Ernie. They have this one episode in which Ernie is talking to an elephant on a banana. He encourages Bert to try it. It goes something like this:

B: I don't want to. I'll look silly.
E: Silly's fun, Bert!
B: I'm not really good at that kind of thing.
E: Just try it.
B: I'M JUST NOT EMOTIONALLY SECURE ENOUGH FOR THIS, ERNIE!

I can relate. When did I become so self-conscious?

But today, we just went outside and we played. I taught Hannah to catch a ball (well, I taught her to hold her hands and arms close together so I could strategically drop the ball in her arms. Ya gotta start somewhere!). I gathered up some of the millions of pine cones and threw them toward one area so we can actually mow, and the girls can walk without tripping. Hannah picked at the bark on a tree - the first time she's ever seen that. Audrey looked at pine needles. We discovered a feather on the ground. I showed Hannah how to blow a dandelion puff. We picked wildflowers. We enjoyed the clouds and sunshine.

And I gotta say, this beats being a grownup any day. I'm never going back.