Go Outside and Play

I confess my love of the outdoors started as a slow process.  Envision a boulder taking its first few revolutions down a grassy slope.  At the start, it’s “mass times velocity” equation results in a slower pace.   As it rolls further down the hill, it gains more momentum, until it is barreling down at an unstoppable pace. 

  I garden, run, and walk my dog in the woods. I have been a summer camp nurse for several years. But I was a fair weather person because that first sprinkle of rain or dip in temperature below 60 degrees caused me to move my activities indoors. And, I really disliked winter.   I live in New Hampshire so winters seem long.  I would go for a run outside if the roads weren’t too icy, but that was it.  I wanted to be outdoors, but I kept telling myself, “if the weather improves”–drier, sunnier, calmer, warmer, etc. I bought a pair of snow shoes for something to try to help me through it.  My husband taught my daughters to ski, and after a few years of persuasion, I reluctantly tried snowboarding.  Turns out I absolutely love it.  I am sure this enamored feeling blossomed because my snow clothes are so warm.

My two personal seasons were winter if I was dressed in snow clothes and sunny, fair skies warmer than 60 degrees.

Then this summer I hiked Mt. Chocorua. I had a day off from working at camp so I decided to go for a hike. The physical exertion of climbing the millions of years old igneous rock exhilirated and soothed my spirit at the same time. Mother Earth revealed my epiphany (so cliche) to me at 3,490 feet: I wanted to be outside everyday–despite the weather. I used to think, “what am I going to do out here?” I now understand that I don’t have to do anything. I just need to go outside and breathe and just be refreshed by nature.

I wanted this joyous feeling to transcend to mud season, crisp fall mornings, and the three weeks of sweltering heat that settles over northern New England. One of my acquaintances works for Polar Tec. She has been known to preach that “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear.” So if I can be warm on the slopes, I should be able to adapt that feeling to autumn yard work or a blustery March stroll through my field. Of course, I want to look respectable when I am frolicking in nature. I don’t want to don a ratty sweatshirt paired with ill-fitting athletic pants–and instantly gain ten pounds. (I’ll make an exception if I am moving 3 yards of superloam to raised garden beds.)

Every evening, I set out my outfit that reflects how I should dress for the weather to be comfortable.  I have become habitual in my nighttime prep work.  Giving up some of my leisure time during the previous evening eases my way out the door in the morning.  Lunches, paperwork, dishes, clean-up, and now outfit choosing are routine.  My goal is to own “good gear” pieces that I can easily put together with each other that help me tolerate the weather and the activities for the day.  Knowing what I want to hang in my closet and then acquiring those desires have not been an easy match to make.  The price/quality/design/color have failed my expectations in one or more ways.  This had led me to take the dive into sewing my own clothes.  I am obsessed and in love with creating my own clothing now.  I know what I need to be me to take on the day.  And I know what I am comfortable wearing.  I enjoy being in control of the style and type of fabric–and where it was sourced–because now I am converted to loving the outdoors.  

With the inspiration of Mt. Chocorua, I now hike into a new adventure of patterns, fabric, and sewing techniques.