Enjoy some TOAD time

In spring and summer, have some evening adventures outside

The time after dinner and before bed can be rough. Everyone is tired, but not quite ready to wind down. The default is that everyone winds up on their screens.

And sometimes that’s fine. But when the weather is nice and the light lingers later, it can be fun to change things up.

A few years ago, my family decided to change the norm and go outside on nice nights after dinner. My little boys in particular love playing in the yard until it gets dark.

When I started talking about this “time outside after dinner,” my daughter gave this routine a delightful name: TOAD Time — because that’s what you get with the first letter of each word. If the double use of the word “time” bothers you, call it Together Outside After Dinner. But whatever you call it, you might want to give it a try!

Mood boosters

We’ve all heard that being outside boosts our mood. Beyond that, I find that being outside together fosters connection. My kids tend to play better together outside when they’re climbing trees, or sliding down the slide on our play set, or creating a restaurant kitchen in a log pile.

If your household looks different than ours, your TOAD Time may look different too. If you have teenagers, maybe you’d like to play cards or Jenga or Pictionary on your porch. Or you can light a fire in an outdoor fire pit.

If it’s you and a partner or roommates, maybe you want to have a glass of wine or cup of tea and talk. If you have an elderly relative in your household, you could invite her to share family memories and stories while sitting outside. It can even be nice to each curl up with a good book and enjoy the fresh air and each other’s presence in silence.

TOAD on the road

Or you can go somewhere if you want! Talk a walk in your neighborhood, or bike to a nearby park or ice cream shop. Visit your neighbors, because maybe they’re having TOAD time too. Or they might start having TOAD time when they see you enjoying yourselves.

I know TOAD can’t happen all year. Come November when the time changes and it’s dark by 4:45 p.m. in my neck of the woods, and freezing, we’ll be hibernating indoors.

But then when the time changes again in March, possibilities open up. We can enjoy life in ways that we can’t otherwise.

It doesn’t have to be hard to enjoy TOAD Time. All you have to do is put on your shoes and maybe take some bug spray. You can let the TOAD adventures unfold from there.