This past weekend we spent most of our moments outside. My family took advantage of the glimmering sunshine and the crisp breeze. On Saturday morning, my daughter participated in an Easter egg hunt. Even though she is eight, she enjoyed scrambling across the green lawn picking up colored goodness. She remained focused on her goal, smiling every time she scored an egg and chucked into her basket. As I watched her collect her bounty, I smiled, witnessing a freedom that accompanies childhood. This is what it means to be a child, I thought to myself.
On Saturday evening, we decided to enjoy a local outdoor culinary festival in town. We spread our blanket on the lawn and sat on the grass for hours. In the background, a live band played music. I jammed to some of my eighties favorites, like Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer to some more contemporary hits. My daughter ran around the green lawn and did cartwheels and played tag with some friends. A breeze accompanied our revelry. Looking around, I saw young toddlers wobbling around trying to gain their footing in the grass, while some of the adults took to the outdoor dance floor. The band grabbed the hand of an elderly woman who started to belt her version of the song on the stage. The texture of her smile extended across the crowd.
The next morning we ventured to a local trail where we hiked for a few hours. My daughter ran ahead, exploring the various flowers and desert landscape. She steadied herself on the rocks, while I watched from behind. When we reached a point where we could stop, I took a picture and captured the grandeur of our environment. The vastness surprised me even though I knew that the beauty appeared to unfold every time I turned my head toward a different direction.
These snapshots of a weekend spent outdoors provided a context to my own childhood experiences. My childhood was spent indoors, where I played school or read. Adventure never took root in those early years. My parents because of their immigrant experience felt more comfortable with entertainment that took place indoors. In their mind, a perceived danger existed on the sidewalk or the creek or the park. I grew up with the adage, “It is better to be safe, than sorry.”
My upbringing created a resistance in embracing the outdoors. It wasn’t until my thirties that I appreciated the tranquility of the outdoors. Running in the morning offered a chance to view beginnings in a way I hadn’t before. The blue sky, the rabbits scurrying along my pathway, and the landscape of cacti and bougainvillea provided the perfect backdrop for my runs. When motherhood entered, I found myself taking my daughter to parks and watching how she view the natural environment with so much wonder. Moving to a place where the landscape lends itself to magnificent views, year round, my focused turned toward really sinking into the grandeur of the outdoor and how much solace and freedom it can offer.
What is your relationship with the outdoors? Has it changed ?
Welcome! I am a lawyer turned freelance writer, essayist, and editor. On staff at Literary Mama and the co-founder and co-editor of the literary journal, The Sunlight Press, my essays and reported work have appeared in The Washington Post, The Lily, Saveur, Civil Eats, Brain, Child, ESPN and elsewhere. I am currently at work on a memoir on grief and culture and how it provides perspective on life’s ordinary graces. I invite you to appreciate the ordinary with me. I hope my daily practice of seeing the magic in the mundane helps you celebrate and find more of these moments in your life too.
What a beautiful outdoor weekend experience! I had one of those as well. I grew up in the great outdoors and have always embraced the freedom and peace it provides me.
I grew up on a lake, hardly spending a moment inside. I still feel most alive when I’m near a body of water, preferably sitting on a patch of grass, sunshine on my face. Loving the outdoors is a wonderful thing to pass to your daughter. She’ll remember these years!
Windy,
Sometimes I am surprised by what l learn about others through these pieces. I never knew that you grew up near a lake. You seem to love the desert equally so its nice that you experienced these two contrasts in landscape.
I love spending time outdoors. It’s so centering and peaceful for me. I’m glad you got the opportunity!
Wonderful post, Rudri, as always, and a great question. I really relate to what you wrote here. My mother was an indoors person and very protective of us…like with your parents I am sure this is related to her immigrant experience and her past experience in a country that was perhaps less safe and less clean outdoors. We did spend time in parks growing up so we weren’t totally housebound, but it was clear that indoor activities like studying were more valuable. Even now my mother seems to disapprove when she thinks I am allowing my son to play outside “too” much. She worries about “too” much sun or “too” much exercise…doesn’t want my son to get too tired or too distracted from school work. But my husband and son are big outdoors people, and I credit them for taking me outside more, and teaching me to appreciate all the benefits of nature and physical activity.
Cecilia,
My mom still hasn’t warmed up to the outdoors. She cautions me to be careful during my runs and is equally protective over my daughter when she goes swimming. I know that it is a part of her identity/cultural notions and I try to remember that when I respond. I am grateful that I’ve been able to break that cycle and my daughter will have great memories of experiencing the grandeur that the outside can bring.
Wow! What a view! I love mountains and big blue skies.
It wasn’t until moving into my last neighborhood in Chicago, where I was so close to the lake/beach and parks that I truly started to savor my time outside, especially with my family. And of course, running made the outdoors even more important once I realized just how much I depended on the fresh air and the view – the outside – just to process the complexities of the insides.
Justine, I like how you use the analogy of the outdoors to help better understand your insides. It’s definitely true. My morning runs often provide a clarity I cannot find anywhere else.
We were outside all weekend too…it was delightful!!