The First 30 Days

Well, I accomplished my first 30 days and I had two big takeaways. First, I am still as stubborn as ever. Second, this challenge has already begun to change my mindset about what it means to get outside.

At the beginning of this challenge, I fully expected this to be a family endeavor. I printed off trackers for each of the kids and myself, we were coloring them in each day, and the kids were excited. But after about a week, the excitement died off, the temps dropped, and I didn’t want to force them to go outside in -30 degree weather just to check it off a box. So I let them off the hook. And then I looked outside and asked if I was going to let myself off the hook. “Everyone would understand” I thought to myself about my 20 Instagram followers. “It’s -30 with windchill out there! Just crawl into bed.” But, in case you don’t remember from nine sentences earlier, I am stubborn. So I bundled up, put on a ton of layers and went on a night walk. My eyelashes froze. The crunching under my boots was making that distinct noise it makes when it is so cold the snow doesn’t even want to be outside, but I forged ahead.

I finally got home and was so proud! I looked at my watch, 15 minutes. It felt like an hour… how?! I went back to my reasons for doing this challenge. The purpose was NOT to count the minutes outside just for the heck of it. It was to spend 30 purposeful minutes outdoors to re-connect with nature and prioritize my self-care. I was determined to find a way to do this for the next 15 minutes. So I grabbed my warmest blanket and went to the back deck where I curled up on an adirondack chair and just focused on my breathing.

The entire world was silent. And it was all mine.

In the summer, all of the Minnesotans come out. This is not a joke. From sun-up to sun down we are outside and soaking up every last minute we can in the beautiful weather before winter hits. But when winter does hit, we are dang good at hibernation.

This was the first time I pushed myself out of my comfort zone in this regard. Before it would have seemed pointless or I would have made excuses like, “I will catch up on my outdoor time another day when it is nicer out.” But when you have to do 30 days in a row, you don’t have the option for excuses. And let me tell you…. so far, the days I have wanted to go outside the least, are the days when I needed it the most.

“So far, the days I have wanted to go outside the least, are the days when I needed it the most.”

-Amanda (30 More Outdoors)

So we made it! The first 30 days. And, like the title suggests, now I am ready for 30 more outdoors. I wonder what the next 30 will bring…