Why #OutdoorFamilies Matter

I haven’t been able to get this tweet out of my head since I read it this morning:

Because kids don't remember their best day of television. #outdoorfamilies #outfam #getoutdoors… https://t.co/lBi7ZVXd2l

— Outdoor Families Mag (@OutdoorFamMag) February 25, 2016

THIS.

This is why I get off the couch when it’s cold and snowy.

This is why I’m outside in the yard even though the house is a mess.

This is why I pack up the camper over and over all summer long–even though I have a perfectly nice home (that probably needs cleaning).

It’s all about the memories. 

In an article titled “Sharing Memories as Gifts: Treasures to Last a Lifetime” published by Outdoor Families Magazine, Suzanne Solsona gets at this issue of memories when she asks,

Without thinking too much about it: What is your most vivid, cherished memory of childhood? Your teenage years? As an adult?

She argues that those memories are related to what we did–not what we had. I’d go one step further and say that many of my own most vivid memories were about what I did outside. Like the tweet above suggests, when I think of my favorite memories, they aren’t of television or movies (even though I’m a major fan of both). They aren’t about things I did inside at all. Instead, I remember…

• Reading a book by the campfire with my parents on Foote Pond.
• Sleeping on the Lake Huron beach as a teenager (admittedly not all that comfortable).
• Hiking with my son to the top of his namesake mountain–only to realize he’d fallen asleep on the way.
• Seeing amazement on my sons’ faces when they first saw Mt. Rushmore.
• Getting swept up in my kids’ glee as they flew down snow-covered hill on their sleds.

These are the things I remember–and the things I hope my sons remember, too. These memories are the reason my family is an #OutdoorFamily.

What are your reasons for getting outdoors? Are you an #outdoorfamily–or aspiring to be?