We took one daughter and a dog by car, an hour outside of Melbourne, to hike in the forest. The path was an easy, flat track that followed an old railway line running between Trentham and Lyonville.

I find two things to be true each time I set out on an adventure outside of the city. One, it always feels like such an effort to get the car packed up with all the pet and child paraphernalia and then fight through traffic to leave town, and two, once we are out and exploring I always feel so much better. Is it the fresh air, the forest bathing, the physical activity, the thrill of a new area to explore – probably a combination of all of the above. So in the end I suppose it’s worth all the effort, which I know in my heart, but I physically need to experience it to remind myself to just say yes. Today was one of those days. In fact, when we set out, it started to rain. It was not forecast and we almost turned around to go home but decided to push on with fingers crossed. The sun shined on us the entirety of our walk, we strolled to the songs of the many cockatoos and kookaburras on our route and our two little ones had fun playing games involving thrown sticks.

I am grateful for putting one foot in front of the other and getting us all outdoors, let there be more days like these. They are simple and soul satisfying.