What’s up with the ‘out and about’ brigade?

[Nayouknow]

You know the ones. ‘I like to be out and about’ brigade. The ‘I’d be climbing the walls if I didn’t leave the house every day’ crew. The people who view time spent in their homes to be ‘wasted’ and time spent outside it to somehow automatically be more rewarding/interesting/energising/virtuous/insert positive.

I’ve only really come across this sort of mentality on MN and I find it fascinating. What’s their deal? Do they not like their homes? Do they have no indoor pursuits that they enjoy enough to be occupied for one day? Is it the actual outside air (not to be confused with the air in their gardens, as those of them who have gardens are generally very clear that hanging out in the garden isn’t sufficient)? Are they hardcore extroverts?

Like everyone else I know, I like to go out and I like to stay in. Walks are nice. Activities are nice. Spending a weekend at home cooking/reading/watching box sets/playing with DS is also nice. Based on their comments, the aforementioned crew would consider the latter a ‘wasted weekend’.

@LaWench

what about seeing your friends?

Blimey 2 days on laundry is alot

@ArseholeCatIsABlackAndWhiteCat

what about seeing your friends though?

I totally got what you meant 😀 I do feel there are some people who genuinely cant stay at home. Ive got active kids, love walking/exploring but I do think all kids need to learn to entertain themselves at home. If we have a busy day, we’ll usually have a chilled day to follow. I know of a Mum who never seemed to let her child get bored, always had to be out every single day. The child does have SEN so perhaps she found it easier being out (not knowing what she was like at home).

You can also see on here the number of people who feel they need to be a children’s entertainer 24/7 and how its somehow looked down on to just let kids entertain themselves at home. I think a mixture of both is a healthy medium. Kids need to learn parents also need to do things at home (plus relax at home), so its good to teach that early on.

aren’t in the majority, that should say. Blame the Pimms. 🤣

Do they? So if you stopped eating food you could survive on thoughts?

I mostly see them in the school holidays. I do have things planned sometimes but not regularly. I see my work friends at work.

I am very happy staying at home. But we have a gym, swimming-pool and bowling alley in the basement, a housekeeper who cooks divinely, two live-in nannies who exercise the children for us and are surrounded by 100 acres of our own parkland with a boating-lake and a fishing-stream, not to mention the walled rose garden and the path that leads to the private beach. So I've always imagined that the pull to go out isn't as great for us as it is for other people.

That's completely misinterpreting what I said, but doing things definitely gives me an energy boost, sorry if that irks you

My point has only ever been from whence the body actually derives energy, which you chose to deny.

See how long you can live on your “energy boosts” without food eh?

Yep this!! I’m out with my DC a lot, because there are so many lovely fun things for us to do when we are ‘out and about’. I try to schedule a day at home for us once a fortnight but fill the other three weekend days because we like to be busy and doing more interesting things than pottering about at home. Each to their own! We have a small flat with no garden and a day at home for us is basically screens. Which is fine but I don’t want it all the time. My DS goes to a special school and has an hour commute each way so already has screens for that. We don’t need more screen time at the weekend.

I used to be very happy to have a quiet weekend at home doing a lot of reading and crafting, watch some TV, potter around the garden etc. Maybe a trip put to have a coffee in a bookshop, go to library etc. DH and I both worked full time out of the house so it was lovely having peaceful downtime.

Since having DD that's had to change and I really miss it. We quickly found that staying at home with a baby meant the days dragged on for ever, she got really whingey and doing night feeds had the effect of making each day seem never-ending! Whereas if we went out, even just to the park or round the shops there were things to see and distractions so the time went a bit quicker. It gave the day a bit of structure.

As a toddler she definitely needed the exercise and change of scenery. We got into the habit of being out at least every morning, then at home for her afternoon nap.

Now she's junior school age we do have an occasional weekend day at home but she does want to do things that need help rather than just wanting to read all day which I remember fondly from my own childhood.

I do have some friends who are very OUT every weekend doing activities at the park, clubs, theme parks, local attractions. They lurch from one to the next so children's club on a Sat morning, get changed there for ballet, lunch in the car, do ballet, onto a children's farm for the afternoon. I do wonder how they cope with all of that!

I am best if I get outside every day

Staying indoors - you just can't move enough , you don't get the sun on your face , you don't expand your horizons that same way

It is energising , revitalising, a real mental health boost - if you don't find it so fair enough but don't mock people just because they are different to you

No-one is denying food gives energy, just that other things to too, much like pedantry does for you

I guess you find it annoying because there is something a bit smug about the “out and about” brigade. A kind of moral high ground from which they look down on home bodies as if they are dull and lazy.

Yeah I don't see that. I just see people who are baffled that anyone would sit in a stuffy living room 'watching box sets' when it's gloriously sunny and warm outside. There are plenty of dank, grim, cold days in the year to be stuck in the house. It's June, and it's warm and sunny. Get outside in the fresh air and sunshine for goodness sake!

Sounds to me like there is some internal guilt going on

Someone makes a normal
Statement like "I couldn't stay indoors" - a statement about the person themselves yiu are then assuming is judgemental and smug - that's on you

Sorry - I was replying to the OP. The ‘quote’ button isn’t working for me and I ended up replying to you instead. Apologies.

Ana! My ‘quote’ button is working again. As I said I thought I was replying to the OP not you. Apologies.

Or Aha! Even 🤣

Been at the cooking sherry @Ilovecleaning 😉🍷

No such luck 🤣

Why do out and about types assume us home bods just sit watching TV? Is that because that's all they do at home? If not, why assume we do?

I dont watch much tv at all. Sometimes I will watch one 40 minute episode of something on an evening but not always. Apart from that the TV is off.

I have a multitude of at home hobbies. I don't actually have enough time to do them as it is. Today I did spend a few hours in the garden pottering and reading my kindle because yes it is a nice day.

Yeah I don't get the stuffy living room thing

And it's not been warm or sunny and it's only 2 days into June!

Yes I've been at home but with all the windows open (so not stuffy), chatted to the neighbours, played with the cat, done some cooking and food for work, read a book, and yes watched some TV

I leave the house generally for swimming, netball, food shopping and if I fancy going somewhere but am definitely more a at home person

OP mentioned spending the weekend cooking and watching box sets! That’s where it’s come from.