在遇见我时，很明显，我是一个室内猫。我喜欢在里面，温暖，在一个舒适的搭配运动衣壳和拖鞋啜饮我的热咖啡。（如果我很幸运能够在我的部队开始大喊大叫之前啜饮。）
Home is my happy place. Throw on a soap opera要么Schitt’s Creek我是一个非常幸福的妈妈。我真的拥有一件T恤，说“inomoory。”
当我第一次见到我的丈夫时，我对他对“做事”的痴迷有点不知所措。他喜欢外面。与此同时，我的版本“漂亮的户外”是坐在酒店喝冰咖啡的海滩上。是的，从一开始就明显了that family，育儿，犹太教，金钱 - 你知道，通常的热按钮问题 - 不会是我们之间的问题。Thiswould be one of the great pains of our marriage.
Over the years, we found our equilibrium: Though I rarely agreed to outdoorsy things like camping or kayaking, we’d spend Saturdays at shul followed by a moderately quiet (depending on which child was napping)afternoon at home。Sundays, we’d switch it up: Along with our kids — ages 6, 4, and 2 — we’d head to the aquarium, or we’d visit museums, or maybe catch a movie or get brunch.
Then coronavirus hit. I did not think it would completely change me in the way that it did. I am fortunate that my family and I have not been directly impactedby Covid-19。我很健康，我的家人很健康，我的孩子很幸运能在学校的教室里学习。但我们通常的娱乐选择不再是一个选择。现在是时候创造着创造性，并重新思考“花时间作为一个家庭”意味着什么。
My husband — always an opportunist — suggested, “Let’s go hiking.” I felt every single part of me cringe. I laughed. He told me he was serious, adding, “It’d be good for you to get outdoors, Dani.” The kids were excited, too, so I decided to be a team player and tag along. I mean, how bad could it be? I could definitely rock the hiking boot look, and that is half the battle, right?
我们的前几个徒步旅行还可以，不可恐怖。他们总是从孩子们开始每五分钟停下一次“自然小便”或anothersnack. They would always end with my middle child face-planting and歇斯底里哭泣。So, all in all, a normal day in the life. Three mile hikes took twice as long as they should have because our 2-year-old saw “another rock.” Spoiler alert: There are A LOT of rocks on hikes.
And then it hit me. (No, not the rock — although thatdid当我的2岁的人被告知时发生了几次，“没有更多的岩石。”）我意识到，就像其他关于我们的“新正常”的一切，我需要一个新的视角。正如我们在餐馆中不再用餐 - 选择Ubereats - 就像我们不再参加我们的Shabbat服务一样physical synagogue— having switched to Zoom — my understanding of who I was, how I spent time with my family, and how I could relate to Shabbat had to change.
当大流行首先击中了最后一个春天，我觉得真的很断开。这在很大程度上是由于明显的因素，如新现实虚拟学校, having the kids home while working from home, and so on. But what I did not realize was that the lack of routine — and our Shabbat routine, in particular — was wearing on me. It no longer felt like Shabbat was a peaceful time. It was justanotherchaotic day at home with the kids but with less electronics. Translation: a disaster.
I never knew I需要户外。好的，也许我仍然没有需要户外。但我确实需要和平和安静。我需要时间脱离我的电子产品和外面的世界。我需要时间和我的三个孩子和丈夫。我有这么艰难的时间给他们我的self他们在一周内需要和应得的时间。在Shabbat上徒步旅行为我打开了整个宇宙。虽然我不喜欢徒步的作品，但我喜欢看着我的孩子们发现自然，在孤立的地方没有面具，不用担心我会错过一封电子邮件，而且我将在我的同时离开我的手机孩子们kvetch。所以，这些户外下午已经成为我的特殊时间。我的圣洁的沙巴时间。
IBN EZRA，这是一个11-12世纪的西班牙犹太哲学家，他在他的诗中写道，“无论我闭上眼睛，在地球上或天上的地方/我看到你在星星/我见到你土地的产量/在每一个下面和声音，一片草叶，一朵简单的花朵，一个回应你的圣名。“
作为rabbi，Shabbat一直是我的特殊时间。一部分原因我没有进入讲坛工作是因为我knewI needed this day for rest and rejuvenation,and that kind of schedule wouldn’t have worked. But since Covid began, Shabbat is no longer an experience I选择为自己，作为一个朝着朝着朝着敏锐的犹太人 - 它已成为一个必要性for me. As Ibn Ezra saw “an echo of Your holy Name” in the natural world, I find theseholy momentswhile exploring God’s beautiful creation. I find echoes of God’s presence watching my children explore the beauties of this world. I find echoes of God’s presence when I push myself to care for my own soul and well being. Who knew I would find my rest from exerting myself on what my husband claims are “moderate” hikes在户外？
这些天，我不仅可以摇滚我的徒步旅行靴，我敢说我爱我的徒步旅行。他们象征着我的happy place, time, and experience with my family拔掉。It’s我的沙巴特。虽然我做了主持服务和拥有kiddush在我的社区中，没有什么可以取代救济，恢复活力，休息的感觉，我曾经走过来，我不再关心杂耍我的孩子，做晚餐，并回应紧急的电子邮件。
When we’re hiking, my biggest concern is more appropriately “Is my husband getting us lost again?” Or how to get my son to stop identifying EVERY rock and stick he sees in our path. For me,Shabbathas become a time torefocus on what really matters.Thanks to Alltrails (an app), Columbia (my boots), and Jon (my outdoorsy husband), Shabbat isn’t only an experience that I respect, honor, and uphold. It’s also one I crave.
So get outside. Trust me. If this indoorsy rabbi mom can do it, SO CAN YOU.
Header image by Cavan Images/Getty Images; design by Grace Yagel
