The Challenge: Spend ten minutes doing something outside that you have never done before.
Kim:
Today I rode a skateboard. This is something I always wanted to do as a kid but never owned one or really knew anyone who owned one that I could borrow. I was a little freaked out. It didn’t help that because of the timing of the day I ended up trying it in the dark and on a slight hill. Yikes! At the beginning I was a little overzealous and I decided to ride it down the slanted driveway. After almost loosing my balance and wiping out, I decided that uphill was a good way to start – not downhill! It was fun, but I had a hard time enjoying it because I felt like at any given moment I would fall and break my head. Oh well, at least I can say I’ve done it now.
Jason:
Today’s solution to this challenge put me into the “ridiculous weirdo” category. While laying in bed this morning, I tried to come up with something that I could do for today’s challenge. The big sticking point was the word “never.” I’m no Boy Scout, but there isn’t a whole lot of things I haven’t done outside at one time or another. Okay, I’ve never jumped out of a plane, braved the rapids, or went skiing. But these were not options today, for a variety of reasons.
One thing I love doing outside is walking. I do that a lot. And then I thought to myself, “Yes, but have you ever done it backwards?” Clearly this was a preposterous thought not worth pursuing, so I tried to come up with something a bit more “safe.” And sane.
But it wouldn’t go away. So at 8:45 this morning, I got out of bed, threw on my shoes and a coat, and headed outside for a 10-minute backward walk. Part of the reason I felt compelled to do it was because I spend way too much time worrying about what other people think of me. Maybe not as much as some people, but more than I’d like to. Kids couldn’t give a rat’s rear end about what people think of them. I need to be more like that.
My backwards walk was a pretty liberating experience. Just a couple observations…It is very difficult to walk in a straight line while walking backwards. I’m pretty sure that people who saw me — yes, there were plenty of those — thought I was insane and drunk. Walking backwards takes a lot longer than walking forward, and I ended up using leg muscles that I didn’t know I had. I got quite the workout, especially walking up hills.
Perhaps I have a new workout sensation on my hands.
Dark Room Confessionals:
Bonus Video: Kim | Jason
So, who was most creative with today’s challenge? Who went beyond the comfort zone and put the biggest hammer on Adultitis? Who did a better job of capturing the spirit of childhood, Kim or Jason? Cast Your Vote!
Tomorrow’s Challenge: Audio Sneak Peek
Like Jason, I had to think for a while about today’s challenge because of the “never” stipulation. There are lots of things I’ve tried for about 30 seconds, but that’s not never. So, after much thought, I decided to try bird watching. I have two speculations on why I didn’t see too many birds today. 1. Time of year – lots of birds have flown someplace warmer, right? 2. The neighbor dogs barking just before birds flew away. I was amazed though at all the birds I could HEAR despite being able to see them. I guess my challenge for today was “bird listening with a little watching.” 🙂
Well, today we sang while standing outside on our balcony. It was quite fun! My song of choice was “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” – I couldn’t resist really. Doug choose to sing “Me and Julio Down By The School Yard.”
I love shooting free-throws so tonite at about 8:00 pm I decided to shoot free-throws like I have never done before. I put on my PJ bottoms, slippers, heavy winter coat, stocking hat, and heavy leather mittens. I then headed out to the ball box in the garage to get a basketball. I have a favorite Michael Jordan black basketball that is so worn that you can see the threads and the black is really gray. However, on closer inspection of the ball box I decided to use a full size football instead and see how many free-throws out of 50 I could make. As I was shooting I was wondering if my final score would be FT % or quarterback rating. At first it was fun as I worked on my technique. Hold the ball with both mittened hands and at the point of push/shoot let the left hand pull away and shoot. However, then adultitis showed it’s ugly head as I tried to see how good I could do at this and getting ticked when I missed. I made 22 out of 50. I thought that was pretty good and I think with practice I could sink 30 out of 50. I did manage to swish a few, some clanged off the iron, and 2 rolled around the rim and out. Dribbling was tough. Too bad I don’t live on a busy street.
Well, I wasn’t able to complete this outdoor challenge “today”, but I’m going to write it down, as my desired activity is weather-permitting….and the current weather did not cooperate. I belong to a local arboretum in the Chicago suburbs, and in the winter time they offer the opportunity to snow shoe on the trails on weekends – when there is at least 4 inches of snow. I’ve never been on snow shoes, so I think this outdoor adventure would be AWESOME!!! And seeing as I recall, a few years back, building snowmen with K&J the night before we left for a college spring break Habitat trip (in MARCH) – I think I’ll get the chance to strap on those snow shoes yet!!
I was interested in taking advantage of the time of year. January in Wisconsin usually means snow and ice and there are a lot of winter activities I have never tried. Alas, the weather has been unseasonably warm and there’s lots of brown muddy grass instead of drifts of snow. However as I was pulling into my driveway I saw a small pile of snow most likely leftover from the driveway being plowed. As it was only about one foot by 3 feet I knew there would be no skiing or sledding or even snowshoeing. So instead of putting on something extra to try out the snow, I took off my shoes and socks and stood on the snow barefoot. I can honestly say I’ve never done that before and I was curious about something I’d read once about how your skin reacts the same to extreme hot and extreme cold. So in a throw-back to our earlier “experiment challenge” I hypothesized that standing barefoot on the snow would feel similar to standing barefoot on hot sand at the beach. Either it’s been too long since I stood on hot sand at the beach or the snow wasn’t cold enough or some other variable, but I did not feel like I was standing on hot sand. It was an interesting sensation and I amused myself with the experience.
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I went for a walk in the rain. That was not my original intent, but hey, it was great :).
Today, I went out to the gazebo behind the office building I was at – haven’t done that yet. And I proceeded to walk around on the benches on the inside – just like the 16 year old teenage daughter in Sound of Music. I haven’t seen that movie in forever, but that’s the first image that came to mind. I started singing the song (in my head) from that movie in that scene: ‘You are 16, going on 17.’
I ate breakfast outside today! So nice and relaxing!