Sometimes You Gotta Get Outdoors

Next week is Thanksgiving and when getting outside becomes more difficult. With all of the technology in our lives, we can keep ourselves entertained while hibernating during the winter months. Unfortunately this may be bad for some. This is the time of the year when seasonal depression kicks in and being outside can help cure it in some instances.

My kids are among those that benefit from being outdoors. It is probably a good thing we spend a lot of the winter skiing as I don't know how else to embrace winter and enjoy being outside. My youngest daughter is noticeably happier after spending a cold winter day teaching little groms how ski. Last year with all of the road closures on the way to Alta because of avalanche danger, she had to find other ways to get outside and keep from getting down.

Today I spent some time with my youngest son. This morning he felt rather down and so we headed outside for a walk to the donut shop. If that doesn't cheer you up, I don't know what will. Unfortunately he still wasn't his jovial self and so we put on jackets this afternoon and headed outside. We walked to a nearby park and played a round of disc golf. I'm not sure if my comedic skills brightened his day or just being outside did the trick. Afterwards he felt much better and we all enjoyed being around him more.

I know you would expect different advice from someone that used to work for a major video game company. After all, shouldn't I be telling you to play the latest and greatest game as it will make you feel better? Nope, the reality is that we all need sunshine. It is tougher to get in the winter but no less important. When you feel yourself getting down on a cold winter day, put down the donut and hot chocolate, put on a nice-warm jacket, and spend sometime outside. Remember there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. 

Spring is in the Air

I took a couple days off last week so I could help run the last ski race of the season at Snowbird. I am responsible for recruiting volunteers and making sure they show up. As the requirements to be either a finish or start referee limits the pool of volunteers, I often end up being one of them. The start referee at a ski race is a thankless job that requires a bladder of steel as you are stuck at the top of the race hill all day long. Fortunately I had someone who wanted the job for all but one day. Even then, I had someone willing to stay at the top of the race course when I needed to take a bio break.

I switched off being the finish referee with my wife for the remaining three days. This allowed me to do a bit of skiing with friends from work. When I would get tired and need a break, I would head down to the race hill and relieve my wife. On Sunday, I took full-time duty as the finish ref and sat at the bottom of the race hill in a wet snowstorm. After almost 4 hours in the elements, I felt frozen and the need to go inside. It was at this point that a number of the boys came down the race course wearing helmets, goggles, gloves, skis, ski boots, their race bib, swimsuits, and nothing else. What a crazy bunch of guys. I couldn't help but laugh as I saw them go by.

This morning I got on a plane and headed to sunny California. It was so warm, I rode back to my boat this evening without a jacket and enjoyed the warm spring air. I'm not quite ready for ski season to be over but I am looking forward to not being so cold. As it warms up outside, take the opportunity to grab your laptop or tablet and see if you can spend more time outdoors. I have had the boat opened up this evening as I work on the computer and it has been wonderful. Of course I did have to put my sweater back on once the sun went down, but it felt good to be out in the fresh air.