Yes, you can find happiness out in the snow and cold of a Wisconsin winter

WAUSAU - The sun was close to rising and there was a bright orangish, reddish, pinkish band of color smeared just above the horizon to the northeast.

It was Jan. 17. It was cold, with temperatures hovering about 5 below zero, and I was out with Henry, our goldendoodle companion, for a walk. I was about a half mile into a two-plus mile loop. I was watching the sun rise, listening to Henry pad along the frigid sidewalk wearing the red booties we bought him for Christmas and feeling the cold start to seep through my heavy winter coat. But I felt something else, too, and it took me a few moments to figure out what it was.

"Ah," I thought to myself. "I think I might be happy."

It took me a few moments to recognize the emotion. I'm not used to feeling cheerful like that in the dead of winter. I think that feeling of well-being might have been the outcome of my 2020 New Year's resolution, which is to spend an hour outside every day, doing some kind of exercise.

This resolution was the result of some science and some midlife bumps that bordered on crisis. Stuff gets real when you hit your 50s and realize that, indeed, you don't have all the time in the world and the thought of how much time you spent watching "Friends" and "Who's the Boss?" leaves you feeling nauseated.

I scrutinized and compared the stuff that I thought made me happy and the stuff that really made me happy. I realized being outside and doing things that got my heart beating and blood pumping made me really happy. "Hey," I thought, "maybe I should do more of that."

On March 1, 2018, I determined that I would spend at least 15 minutes exercising outside every day, no matter what the weather, no matter my mood or energy level. I found out that Wisconsin winters aren't nearly as bad as we make them out to be (even in brutal Polar Vortex temps) and Wisconsin summers are more resplendent than what we boast. Soon I forgot that going outside for a run was something I had to do. It passed beyond something I wanted to do. It became just something I did, and I haven't missed a day since.

Because I adhere to a strange philosophy that if something is too easy it's rarely worth doing, I upped the ante on Jan. 1 of this year, extending the time period to an hour. At the same time, I decided that this wasn't going to be about getting fitter, losing weight or posting a personal best in a 5-kilometer race. This was going to be about using an hour a day to have fun, move around and enjoy some goofing off time with Henry. 

I also vowed to embrace the opportunities that each season brings, so that means skating, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. Summer will include cycling, hiking and kayaking. Running is a flexible year-rounder sport. I'll go for an easy walk if I feel tired. If it's very cold, I'll break up the hour into segments throughout the day.

As the days of January ticked by, I found that I was having more and more fun. I skated with friends at the base of Rib Mountain and on the rink in downtown Wausau. I trudged through knee-deep snow on snowshoes while Henry bounded alongside me. I glided through a fairy-tale landscape at Nine Mile County Forest Recreation Area in Rib Mountain. Why, Henry and I even tried skijoring (the sport in which a dog pulls a cross-country skier), which was met with much skepticism on the part of Henry. He kept looking back at me: "What? You want me to pull?"

January has been a gray month, but I still got a lift from being out, even in the gloomy early mornings. If the sun came out, I got downright giddy.

All this happiness stuff caught me by surprise, frankly. It was my intention only to prevent the slide into my usual deep winter gloom. And who knows? Maybe I will in February. But science is on my side. There is an increasing body of evidence that shows going outside makes a human being happier, less stressed and healthier.

So bring it on, Mother Nature. Let's have some fun.

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