1000 Hours Update and Mother’s Day Ideas!

Like I admitted last month, we’ve lost count over here with our 1000 hours challenge. However the weather keeps getting nicer and we consequently find ourselves naturally gravitating out of the house a bit more often and for longer stretches of time. There have obviously been a lot of downsides and tragedies with the Covid pandemic, but one silver lining is the amount of time we’re spending outdoors. Every play date is spent in the open air. We met with a few friends last week during April break, and the plans included a hike to a fire tower, swinging in the backyard and playing in the woods. It’s been wonderful. All told, my guess is that we’re somewhere around 225 at May 1st. It’s almost June – and almost midyear – which means we “should” be around 500. But we’re not, and that’s ok! It’s still more hours than we spent outdoors before this challenge (and pandemic) so I’m pleased. Even if you don’t make the 1000 hour total, imagine how good you’ll feel after increasing your outside time. The sun, the fresh air, the exercise – all soothing balms for the body and soul.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday and my family usually takes a nice hike. Not all of my family members love to hike, so a (no complaints) trek is a gift for me. That said, as Angela Hanscom suggests in Barefoot and Balanced, the more often kids hike/run/bike etc, the less they complain. I’ve made this observation myself. Sometimes kids just need to develop the habit and strengthen their bodies; then they learn to love it. (Hanscom has a whole theory on how today’s children are becoming physically de-conditioned due to lack of exercise, but that’s another topic…) That said, here are some kid-friendly NH hiking suggestions if you’re looking for ideas.

Hannah has some other Mother’s Day offerings as well:

For moms of young children: *a day away to do your own solo thing *a chore day (where mom gets to decide the chores and the kids/spouse do them) *a class or workshop *supplies for a project she wants to do, a pollinator garden from Bagley Pond Perennials)

For moms of grown-up children: a day together (hiking, the beach, a museum) *a chore day or help with a project *a class or workshop together *a donation to a charity mom would like

As for me, I always love a good trip the to garden store. I reuse my hanging basket from the previous year and buy some starter flowers, usually locally raised impatiens. If you want to send your mother flowers, reconsider something more sustainable like a plant. For people who really love flowers, how about a giftcard to a farmstand like Petals in the Pines, which has PYO flowers starting later this Spring. (It is SO much fun!) At the very least, try and refrain from purchasing flowers that need to be shipped half-way around the world. I get it – I LOVE fresh flowers – but I think a pretty plant or perennial can be just as nice and way less taxing on the environment.

Any other ideas?

To all the moms, step/bonus moms, people whose moms have left this world, people who want to be moms, moms without their babies and everyone else – we wish you a very happy Mother’s Day weekend. Lots of love – Hannah and Rachel