Grab your headlamp and let's go.

Something occurred to me during a 5:30 a.m. run last week: exploring the outdoors in the dark is FUN. Running through the quiet streets and woods of my neighborhood, lit by the narrow beam of my headlamp and the warm glow of holiday lights, it struck me that THIS is my kind of adult adventure. It’s relatively safe, doesn’t take much time, and provides the same feeling of exhilaration I had as a kid - running around with neighborhood friends past sundown. If you struggle with winter, maybe it’s time to start playing in the dark.

Some see the lack of sunlit hours in winter as an excuse to hibernate, do less, and become insular. What if, instead, it’s an opportunity for unlit antics? What if we found our way into the dark, instead of succumbing to it and spending far too much time indoors?

The other day, my son told me his teacher ice skates from 5:00 - 6:00 in the morning with a headlamp. When I heard this, something opened up in me - if I were a cartoon, a lightbulb would have appeared over my head. I’d been given an invitation into the upside of the dark, seeing it for the gift it offers: reaching a different part of us, the one that craves adventure, mystery, and a break from the routine of our adult lives.

Since my aha moment, I’ve been braving the cold and dark with greater enthusiasm. Although it takes more effort to get out there - all the layers, the pep talking, the whining that’s happening on the inside - I’ve never once regretted it.

Last Saturday, we’d finished dinner by 5:30, and I wasn’t willing to turn on the TV quite yet - because that meant slipping into full zombie mode for the rest of the night. Inspired by my son’s teacher, I suggested we head to a nearby skating pond with headlamps, where my son could practice “drifting” his new remote control truck on the ice. That last part made for an easy sell, and the fresh air and adventure brought us all back to life. We were still home by 7:00, in pj’s by 7:05, and I was sound asleep on the couch by 8:00. But we’d made it outside and did enjoy ourselves in the dark.

I’m not, for a minute, suggesting we don’t love sunshine. We absolutely do. It’s the reason I take a lunchtime walk and tolerate the obnoxious glow of a sun therapy light. But the bookends of the day can be just as regenerative, if we’re willing to step outside in the dark. Grab your reflective vest, some traction for your boots or sneakers, and discover a whole new world out there.