City mouse - versus - country mouse. Outdoor advantages to both.

 This is the winter Elinor gets to try skiing for the first time.  She's almost three and a half but has been a bit less interested in being out in the snow than Teddy was.  Part of it is the lifestyle.  I, as many others likely do, initially think of living in a city as being mostly indoors and void of outdoor activity.  But Nell and I have been reflecting on the fact that we actually spent more time with Teddy outside when we lived in Jersey City in a small condo than we do with Elinor now that we live on a three acre property.  Why is that?

When we had to walk our oldest daughter to day care or school everyday on our way to the train station or the ferry terminal we were forced to endure whatever elements the weather had in store for us.  Raining? Grab the umbrella, rain jacket, and duck boots.  Snowing? Gear up with gloves, snow pants and jacket and snow boots.  The other day it was 10 F outside and I walked to my car in a sweatshirt and sandals to warm it up.  Then I carried the jacket Elinor would wear during play time with us to the car while she ran from the house to the car in just a long sleeve shirt.   During the commute home it's an even more stark difference.   In Jersey City the walk home always meant passing the lovely Van Vorst Park and about 80% of the time we'd end up making a stop to play on the swings or the playground with some of the neighborhood friends before going home for dinner.  Because we were already geared up just to leave the day care facility, there was no fussing about getting on the winter gear to "go outside and play".  It was simply part of the regular routine.   Compare that with our current situation where we pick up with the car, heater blasting on those cold days, no jacket needed and regular pants sufficient for the indoor weather.   If we want to try to get the girls outside after work it takes some more effort.  "let's get dressed to go out and play for a bit before dinner.  I know it's warm in here and cold out there - but it will be fun...".   We are successful at times but it's not as effortless as if being outside was a given.

But....

I wouldn't change a thing.  We now have the ability to walk out the door and into the farm behind our property or down to the stream that runs through the wetlands that borders our home.  Or with a 5 minute drive we can access the type of trails and protected wilderness that would take a 45 minute drive to get to when we lived in the city.  The birds frequent our bird feeder, the foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and turkeys all traverse through our property to get from one place to another and we have the opportunity to spend a lot of quality time outside with our girls.   It just takes a little bit more effort to get them to step out of the warmth of the car or our home and into the warm embrace that nature brings no matter what the conditions.  

The picture in this post is of Elinor with her favorite stuffy "sheepy" on a 12 F day, heading out to check our night vision camera to see if we caught any furry visitors walking through our yard over the past few nights.  The cold didn't phase her - although the promise of hot chocolate probably didn't hurt - and soon enough the warmer ski days of March will be here and we'll get Elinor her first turns on skis.  

The grass is not always greener.  Well, sometimes it is but it's not usually that much greener than where you are.  You just have to know how to look at where you are.