Just Drag 'Em Out

Labor Day was a real treat this year.  The weather was quintessentially autumn, which is to say, it was glorious!  We spent a leisurely morning around the house as a family, tying up the loose ends that are ever present on a micro-farm inhabited by so many humans and critters.  Then, we loaded up our bicycles and journeyed to a local rail trail spot.

I get the question often how do we get the girls to do this stuff?

I usually turn to the Rugged Mountain Man and ask, "How do we get the girls to do this stuff?"  

Much of it has to do with our own interests.  The Rugged Mountain Man and I love the Great Outdoors.  It's our idea of a good time, a healthful time even.  Just like everything else in our parenting philosophy, we take our children along.  

This is just how our family is and this is how we are... together.

We try to keep our outdoor expedition to mostly age-appropriate lengths.  However, it's stuff we deem age appropriate, which I realize is a stretch from the typical American vision of what children can handle outside.  I was raised to be doing stuff outdoors, as was the Rugged Mountain Man.  That's how he became rugged!  

We've been doing this stuff with the girls since they were little.  The desire to be with us seems to spark their interest early on.  It keeps them going until their own interests kick in as a fierce motivating factor.  Meanwhile, we're thrilled that their endurance is growing.

It never hurts to motivate with a little bit of good food.  I'm always armed with water and good protein packed snacks, plus a little treat.  Also, we occasionally hit up an ice cream parlor after a particularly victorious family adventure.  A little ice cream goes a long way to motivate little legs, let me just say!

The Blossoms know that when we say we're doing a hike, we're doing a hike.  It's the same basic lesson we've been driving home from the very beginning.  Whether schoolwork, chores or hiking, it's all rooted in obedience. 

This obedience makes family life, all of family life including our family recreation time, 

much more pleasant.  

After all, unity is pleasant!  

Every hike and bike adventure isn't riddled with perfect attitudes, but usually anyone who may not be 100% on board eventually comes around.  It's hard not to when everyone else is having a good time.

I don't mean to offer overly optimistic advice for how to get kids outdoors; I've got enough on my plate wrangling our crew out the door!  Suffice it to say, I'm happy that all the foundations we've been laying for a while, are starting to pay off, making our family recreation times delightful.

Dominique

PS - While I pulled Blossom4 in a friend's bike trailer, we did 15 miles on Labor Day.