It’s a very easy thing to do; stay in your house. Especially when the weather is hot and humid outside and you don’t feel like you live in New York City anymore but rather the rain forest in a South American country. Personally, this kind of weather makes me want to become one with my couch, soak up the air conditioning in my living room and eat a lot of ice cream.
If you’re anything like me in this situation, you create excuses not to leave the house. I can’t find a clean tee-shirt therefore I must stay in today! Plus, it’s overwhelming to try to leave the house with a baby in tow. You need to compile a bag of supplies to make sure your child is satisfied both physically and emotionally for the duration of the time that you are in the outside world. It can be a daunting task.
On the other hand, I once had a therapist who gave me these wise words of advice: “When in doubt don’t bail out!” Meaning, if you have plans to do something or go somewhere, and you are considering canceling those plans for an arbitrary reason to stay home, DON’T. Force yourself to leave the house. Go out!
Why go out? Why not! If you stay in, the day will be predictable. You’ll watch a lot of TV, go a lot stir crazy, and by the end of the day you’ll feel worse. But if you go out, the possibilities expand.
Even if you visit familiar haunts, you may meet new people, find a new spot in the park that you didn’t even know existed and by the end of the day you will have given yourself three important gifts: surroundings that are not the four walls of your apartment, fresh air and a little sanity.
So if you are debating whether or not to get out of the house, do it! Go out there and take a walk with your child. Even if it’s around the block, even if you have no destination in mind. Your mind and your body will thank you for it.
