101 things to do...#16: Try something new!

...or maybe something you just haven't done in a while. for us, it was snowshoeing. In years past we've tried this, although my own children have been less than enthusiastic about the awkward feeling of snowshoes, the "different" way to walk, or the newness of the experience. Weather hasn't always been on our side, either. Last winter was unseasonably mild and we had little snow to speak of. But, I've persisted in offering the experience and figured eventually they'd warm up to the idea. A friend recently invited us to meet up at a local nature center where we could rent snowshoes for very little money. The snow was great, the sun was shining, and the kids were much more willing to try snowshoeing knowing they'd have friends at their side. They strapped on the snowshoes and bounded off across frozen wetlands, through snowy forests, and even tried some snowshoe tree-climbing (not something I'd recommend!) It was lovely. Who knows what the trick was this time? Maybe the fact that we had friends in tow, maybe the kids are just *that much older* or maybe it was something else entirely. Whatever it was, I'm glad we gave it another try. It's so easy to try something once, and then to "write it off" if it doesn't go well the first (or second, or third) time. But good things are worth waiting for, and persistence pays off. When it comes to outdoor actvities, it's worth it to give something another chance.