I had a birthday this week. And there's nothing that makes you think about time like a birthday.

As an adult (with summers free from traditional working hours), I personally like to leverage birthdays as an opportunity to get my children to do something with me.  They tolerate and oblige me on this one day of the year and I take advantage.. And I get a memory for the book.  This year, I just was not really sure that I wanted to do anything, since we were getting started kind of late in the day and it was a perfect sunny day for the pool. I was lounging outside on my favorite chair.  Face pointed towards the sun like a young sunflower, and ready to follow its trek across the sky.  Baking in complete thermal euphoria, I was well prepared to just spend my special day there instead.   

But then I remembered something that I read the other day, and it actually moved me to swing my legs over the chair and go gather up the boys to load up.

While scrolling a few weeks ago, I clicked to read an article that summarized studies that basically said that one of the reasons that time tends to move faster as we get older is because our lives become so routine. I'm going to take the liberty to summarize it even more. More responsibilities, fewer firsts, and less opportunity for novelty, leaves our brains on autopilot. Autopilot, like driving the same route to work  every single day and wondering if you looked before turning out at a stop sign, doesn't leave a lot of brain bookmarks along the way.  Routine requires little thought from us, which means the brain shifts into something called automaticity.  The brain is designed to conserve energy, so when it already knows how to do something, it coasts.  Conversely, new things and novelty items inspire and excite us and capture our attention. Those sights and sounds, conversations and emotions....they make us pay more attention, and therefore we remember more.   

The fix? Probably kind of obvious by now...break up the monotony of everyday life in any way that you can.  Some suggestions included: New route to work, travel, creating things (photography, painting, writing, music, etc), learning a new skill or hobby, being present in the moment, meeting new people, and spending time outdoors.  

IMG_0279Hazard Cave

So, what better day to test the Memory Density Theory?  Well, it was my birthday, and, as I said, I like to make my kids do somethings outdoors with me on that day. I also happen to love to take pics and write.  So I combined them all in one to help fight the passage of time, in a sense. 

We made the short trip to Pickett State Park (just across the county and state line for us but only about 45 minutes away).  PSP is one of those places that's easy to take for granted when you live nearby. Tucked away neatly just over the Tennessee line, it's not part of the Daniel Boone National Forest or Big South Fork. It's a place of its own...it's a quiet little park surrounded by towering sandstone cliffs, dense hardwood forests,  massive rock shelters that make you feel like you've stepped into another world, and anchored quaintly by the most perfect swinging bridge in the middle. It's also one of only a handful of places in the country designated as both an International Dark Sky Park and a Silver-Tier Dark Sky Park, making it just as impressive after the sun goes down as it is during the day ( as I write this, I think I have just talked myself into a return trip to photograph the night sky. For the sake of testing MDT again, or course).  Whether you're looking for a beautiful easy paddle, a scenic hike, or simply a place to slow down for a while, it's a definite go-to.  

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The park was not crowded but we did see multiple different groups hiking, fishing, kayaking, swimming, and picnicking.  We have been many times but had never rented the kayaks or hiked the trails.  So, we rented the kayaks and then we hiked the Hazard Cave trail.  Both were fun experiences and I got to take several photos (lol but not as many as I wanted).  The irony in slowing down to enjoy nature was that I had to walk and kayak so fast to keep up with teenage sons that I could hardly take photos without being left behind.  But I'll take the trade any day.  

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As for slowing down the hands of time, I guess I'll put new adventures,  the outdoors, alternate routes to work, and learning new things right up there with hyularonic acid, that growing list of must-take supplements, weighted vests, heavy weights, and protein.  Does any of it work?  Who knows but we can have fun trying!