Yesterday it was in the mid-30s. I was tired. I took the little ones to storytime at the local library, which was fun, and - of course - inside. The first outside time I had with Manon (and the baby) was in the afternoon. Charles had to give a special presentation at school, so we were there one hour before pickup. Though I would have been happy to sit inside with the kids and my coffee, I decided to push for 'outside'. So I bundled up Manon (and the bambino) into all her snow gear, snowpants, boots, hat, gloves, extra sweater, jacket, etc - my goodness that's definitely the most trying part of the whole process!) and I let her romp in the playground. There were snow mounds and the schoolchildren had carved tunnels in them. She was happy as a clam to putter around in the snow, going in the tunnels, rolling down the snow hill, all by herself for nearly an hour, and joined by another little friend for a little while too. I sat on a little carved bench and nursed the baby and drank my coffee.
After pickup we brought the girls plus a friend to an outside (free) ice skating rink in Madison - they were all outside for a good hour and a half, skating, playing 'hockey'. Again, the friend factor was key - many children at school have started to go to this rink on Friday afternoons, so there were lots of friends and moms and dads and snacks. We didn't leave until after nightfall.
So Ines was outside for 2 hours 45 minutes, Manon for 2 hours 30 minutes. A good amount - they were beat (in a good way) at the end of the day. Manon fell asleep around 6PM and that was that. I still wonder what I would do to get them outside for five hours a day.
Speaking of outside, I realize that this is something that my mother is lacking in her life. She lives in a lovely assisted living with ample terraces and patios, etc. But in snow or inclement weather nobody uses these. However, even in good weather, she is not inclined at all to go out. The only time she feels fresh air is if I am taking her out to an appointment, or to have lunch or get her hair cut or something. And in these cases, fresh air is fleeting, because we are getting into the car or going into a building. One big exception was in September - my sister and I wheeled her up to the farmer's market at the capitol square. I was thinking she'd hate it because of the crush of people and all the stimulation. However, she loved it! She was probably outside altogether for an hour (we walked around the market and then walked to a restaurant for lunch). But she never had a better day the whole fall.
I wonder how I can get her outside more, once the weather gets better....
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