Take a Silly Little Walk (SLW) on my B(earth)day.
On April 22nd, 1967, my mother was born at 12:35am. Twenty six years later and four minutes prior, I was born on the very same day. I was two weeks late and breech. I didn’t flip until a few hours before I was born. I was determined to share I birthday with my mother.
My mom has always maintained that she wanted me to have my own day to shine. I, however, love sharing a birthday with my mother. She is simply the cutest, most lovable human alive plus it serves as a great two truths and a lie factoid.
If you can believe it, my mother and I also share this day of celebration with someone else—Mother Earth! (and this year, God — Happy Passover!) Growing up my classmates and teachers were quick to remind me I shared my special day with the holiday. But I had little cares. I was too cool for Earth Day. Plus, this day was about my mom and I. Stop side-tracking from the true stars of April 22nd.
Now as a thirty one year old, I’ve changed my tune. I love mother nature and spending time outside. So much so, that all I want for my birthday is for you to take what I like to call a Silly Little Walk (SLW).
How to take a SLW:
Wake up: Open your blinds and let in the morning light.
Get Dressed: Something cozy and weather appropriate.
Get Moving: Walk out the door as soon as possible. Fresh air in your lungs and sunlight in your eyes first thing in the morning is medicine.
Look & Listen: Embrace the mundane. A three legged dog hobbling in front of you. A little leaf tornado on a windy day. Eavesdrop on passerby conversations. Throw some music in your headphones for a jolt of energy. Listen to an audiobook.
Fuel: Bonus points for stopping by your local cafe for a coffee and Silly Little Treat (SLT)
Repeat: As much as necessary throughout the day.
Why should you take a silly little walk?
There are a few reasons. The first—it makes you feel better.
Birthday hike April, 22nd 2023
Studies show that morning sunlight helps to regulate your circadian rhythm, increase alertness, boost mood, lower stress, reduce anxiety and improve sleep quality.
I have found all of these benefits to be true. Walking the family dog made me feel better when I lived with my parents during Covid and needed some space. When I moved back to Brooklyn and was working remotely, my walks throughout the day were the only time I saw sunlight. I loved walking outside so much that I went to Sedona for my honeymoon and hiked three times every day. When I was struggling to become pregnant, getting outside every day helped me reset my frustration. Then, when I did get pregnant, we took one last vacation to Joshua Tree for some hiking.
Now as a mother, getting outside as soon as possible is more important than ever. Most mornings Rex demands a walk by shouting “DOG” within 30 min of waking. He knows that a walk is the standard start to our day because we’ve been doing it since he was born. I get him dressed for the weather, strap him into the stroller, and we walk the Jersey City waterfront with eyes peeled for any golden retriever or shiba inu that crosses our path.
Rex loves the outside so much that our crazy idea for a family vacation didn’t seem so crazy at all. When he was five months old we flew into Boezman, MT and drove the entirety of Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and finished in Park City, Utah. We hiked at least twice a day. Rex was sleeping like a champ, on the most regular poop schedule to date, and the congestion he left New York City with cleared by day two.
Baker Family Vaca October 2023. Grand Teton National Park.
When we returned home, it was winter—gray, cold and insanely windy across the Jersey City waterfront. Getting outside every day became less of a treat and more of a chore. I read There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather. The book explains Friluftsliv—the Swedish concept of getting outdoors as much as possible. The Swedish are so dedicated to this philosophy that they nap their babies outdoors. They even send their kids to forest schools in head-to-toe mud gear to explore in the woods all day. They do this despite rain, snow, or freezing temperatures. Friluftsliv encourages dressing appropriately so that you can refocus on what there is to enjoy about the outdoors—even in “bad weather.”
January 2024. Rex thinking maybe there is such a thing as bad weather.
This book transformed how I thought about the cold and sold me on the importance of getting our kids outside as much as possible—even when the weather was not what most would describe as “good”.
By the time New Years rolled around I had a resolution at the ready: spend 1000 hours outside in 2024. Committing to 1000 hours outside in one year sounds daunting, but it’s helped to ease one of the hardest parts of motherhood.
This brings me to the second reason you should take up a once daily walk— it helps you reframe productivity.
At six weeks postpartum, Isaiah went back to work and I felt useless. Without an extra set of hands the laundry went unfolded, bed unmade, and dinner wasn’t prepped. I could barely make myself breakfast. I got “nothing” done.
I called my doula in tears. She reminded me that I had kept a baby alive that day. I fed the baby every 2 hours from my body. I rocked the baby to sleep for three naps. When I put Rex down, he wailed. I was the most familiar thing to him in this scary new world. So I held him. All day long.
Why did caring for my baby feel like nothing? Because it wasn’t on a list for me to cross off? Because it wasn’t working towards a promotion or KPI? Had a decade in corporate America and my type A personality permanently warped my values? Why did I qualify task based work as “something” and ongoing care as “nothing.”
Most of the time when we head outside we are simply walking around. This is what many would describe as “nothing.” By putting it to a challenge, or even just giving it a name (SLW), I’m reminded that it is in fact “something.”
We often run into friends. We catch up and walk to the park together. I set Rex down and let him crawl around on the grass. We start our journey back home; identifying the trees, birds, and (of course) dogs along the way.
Doing nothing is literally everything to my son. He’s exploring the world. He has my undivided attention. It is something after all.
Take a SLW in Protest
Earth Day was established in 1970 with the threat of nuclear annihilation looming in the polluted air. Urban filth and industrial pollution once seen as a sign of prosperity were finally acknowledged as a threat to society’s health. You can read the long version here, but I’ll give you the skinny.
There was a very big and very upsetting oil spill in California. A senator named Gaylord who had long been concerned about environmental issues in the United States wanted to organize campus teach-ins to educate the public on pollution. He recruited an activist named Denis to engage college students. They chose April 22nd because it was after finals and before school let out. From the start, Earth Day was a success and has since been utilized as a day of protest benefiting ecological issues.
There are plenty of global causes you can take up to benefit our planet this Earth day, but what if you instead used Earth Day as a personal form of protest by doing “nothing” and taking a Silly Little Walk? It’s a protest against back to back zoom calls, keeping up with endless chores, or even a bad weather forecast. If you give it a chance, “nothing” could turn out to be everything.
Happy B(earth)day!
