By Pattie Mihalik

While I was searching internet sites for coronavirus information, I found three different medical experts who touted a way to feed your mental health.

All three suggested better mental health during these devastating times starts with one simple act.

Open your front door and go outside.

Spend at least an hour a day outside, they advise. It doesn’t have to be strenuous exercise in order for you to gain the mind and body benefits of being outside.

“Even if you just enjoy the outdoors by sitting outside your house there will be definite benefits,” they claim.

People are starting to take that message to heart. I think they may be motivated more by cabin fever and boredom than with a genuine desire to exercise.

After all, how much sitting around the house can we take? It’s been three weeks since many of us enjoyed our usual social activities.

When we hear the virus is especially deadly to those 65 or older, we oldsters are more likely to adhere to the advice to “shelter in place.”

Here in Florida, Land of Perpetual Sunshine, one would think outdoor activities would be an important part of life for most people.

Not so.

Not everyone stays indoors, of course. But if you look around at those who are engaged in outdoor activities you’ll see it’s the happy old folks like me who are out there enjoying a second childhood.

I just read an interesting article that points out kids in Florida spend even less time outdoors that kids in other states.

Statistics claim kids everywhere spend an average of four to seven minutes a day.

Frankly, I’m surprised kids are outdoors even that long. Maybe walking home from school or getting out of the car on the way to an indoor activity.

I live in a fairly big development with a lot of younger families. Yet, I rarely see any kids outside except the four year olds near me.

I don’t even see kids walking home from school.

What I do see are parents who drive a block to the bus stop and wait for their kids. Then they drive the kids home. For a block!

I keep wondering why grade school and middle school kids aren’t allowed to walk one block.

Parents say it’s “not safe.” We don’t live in a dangerous big city. We live in a laid-back neighborhood where I have yet to read the dangers of letting kids walk on the block.

“Times have changed,” one mother told me. “It’s no longer a safe, benign world.”

Sad, but true.

When I first moved to Florida I saw a bunch of middle school and high school students playing volleyball at the beach. I thought how lucky those kids were to grow up in a beautiful state with its own wonderful beach.

I later learned the kids were visitors. But plenty of local kids do take advantage of our beaches and waterways.

The article claims one reason why kids don’t spent time outdoors is because kids are overscheduled with organized activities.

Before the virus hit, we had recreational programs but not outdoors. (Too hot, some say) Instead, their parents drive kids to air-conditioned gyms.

Contrast that with kids of yesteryear that made their own fun. They never had to have play dates.

If kids wanted to play with others they simply walked outside and joined their friends.

My father says he didn’t give me much in life but he was ever so wrong. He gave me a rich legacy - a keen appreciation of being in the great outdoors.

I developed a love of nature and the great outdoors at an early age by palling around with him as we walked through the woods or went fishing in the bay.

If you’re around my age, chances are strong your parents never drove you to the playground. You walked.

You walked everywhere you wanted to go, and each day brought another adventure of outdoor fun.

Our best childhood memories still center on that outdoor time.

To this day, I not only love being outdoors; I crave it.

This week has been perfect for walking - balmy days with strong puffs of wind. But then, I think almost every day is perfect for walking.

Here’s the big news. They were right when they said the coronavirus would change the fabric of our lives.

One of the things that’s changing are the number of people opting for outdoor activities.

It used to be when I went for a walk or biked I hardly saw a soul.

We’ve suddenly had a complete turnaround, probably because so many people are no longer working.

Exercise and sunshine can help combat stress many are feeling.

Here’s an amusing outdoor activity that’s attracting a lot of people. They place lawn chairs in front of their garage doors, talking to passers-by from a safe distance. With social isolation getting the better of us, it’s their way of being outside and still not exposing themselves to the virus.

They greet people walking by but everyone is careful to maintain distance between themselves and others.

This virus is changing our way of life.

Perhaps now, many more will enjoy spending time in nature.

Even though I’ve always appreciated the pleasure of outdoor activities, so much time sheltering in place has enhanced that pleasure.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.