Nature Walks

There isn’t a rotten day in these boys’ lives that cannot be fixed by a nature walk. They will be grumpy, tired, whiney, or irritable, but when taken outdoors (the more open the space, the better), all of it vanishes into thin air, floating up and away. I find it interesting that there was a time when they were younger that I rushed them around from place to place trying to keep them happy and entertained. Not surprisingly, the result was only temporary, the joy fleeting. In the Science Centers and Magic Houses of the world, there is a kind of excited buzz, but an indoor one — an overstimulation of the senses and a barrage of sights, sounds, and smells that ultimately drains and does nothing to replenish our selves.

That’s not to say that these places are bad; we have had so much fun and learned so much during our visits there. But when I observe the aftereffects, the results are extraordinarily different. After a morning spent indoors, my boys tend to be irritable and aggressive. After a morning spent in a wild(ish) open outdoor space, they are calm, replenished, engaged, and kind. There is something that follows them home after being outdoors in nature, a kind of floaty happy thing that hangs over all of our heads. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s as though they’ve been filled up by nature.

We needn’t go far — our friends Maggie and Alex showed us this trail in Forest Park, just a stone’s throw from the Central West End, where we can walk along water, spot frogs and turtles, identify many plants, climb trees, and skip stones. It is a five minute drive from our house. Someday we’ll ride our bikes here. 

There are places to hide (weeping willow trees are so cool!), places to run, places to explore and places to just sit and observe. A nature walk doesn’t have to be a strenuous several-mile hike (although that is also fun); it can be an hour in a park just wandering aimlessly. 

Thank you, Maggie and Alex, for showing us that the perfect nature walk is right around the corner.