My daughter one day said "Mommy put your phone down and come play".
Did my toddler seriously recognize the need to connect with nature more than I did? I know I have been envious of the amount of time she gets during the day at daycare to play in the sunlight as I toil behind a computer screen away from any and all windows that cast glorious rays of sun into the office. Could getting outside really improve my mood? I figured it wouldn't hurt to try!
I work from home, my husband commutes downtown, and my two and a half year old daughter goes to daycare (which we refer to as school) since it is nearly impossible to work from home on a laptop with a toddler asking to 'play' with the buttons every two minutes. Last month we decided to make a change and get outside for 2 hours every Saturday and Sunday. In reality we were mimicking the outdoor play time at school in order to burn off some pent up toddler energy, but we found that we started feeling more energized too! Could it be? Nature is actually good for us?
I came across a post from Ontario Parks the other day while looking at ways to connect with nature. I found that I have a condition Richard Louv is calling 'NDD' or 'Nature Deficit Disorder'. As I write this, the rain today has stopped and the sun has come out. Therefore I must bid adieu, shutdown my computer, unplug and bask in the sweet smell of fresh rain and glorious vitamin D to treat my newly diagnosed condition. (you can self-diagnose from the Ontario Parks post here or Richard Louv's site directly here)
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