I shared a photo of my kids' #GetOutside bucket list on Facebook earlier in the week, thinking it would get a few of my friends past a few long days without school. Fast forward to Sunday night, and now I’m sharing my list with everyone who fears for their own mental health and the idea of being home with kids for three weeks.

It sounds dramatic, I know. But it's how it is. People get anxious. People's tempers flare when they have no control over what is happening, and before long, everyone is going to start yelling at everyone around them and it's going to be a horror show.

You know that meme, "Everything is not easy-peasy lemon squeezy. It's difficult, difficult, lemon difficult"? That’s me right now.

I am panicking over what I’m supposed to do for three weeks while I work remotely as best I can, while two kids who are at completely different levels are also home and unable to do things like going to the playground because no one is out there randomly disinfecting playgrounds all day (remember our Ultimate SouthCoast Playground Guide? That's how much I rely on playgrounds to keep my kids busy on their days off).

So if you are reading this and thinking, “AMEN TO THAT!”, then this list might be for you. Each warm day we have hit a new hiking trail on the SouthCoast and have not yet repeated a single one. There are more than enough trails for everyone to fill three weeks' worth of "I-don't-know-what-I'm-going-to-do-today" days. There are even more trails not on this list if you happen to run out of ideas, such as all of these bike paths.

This is not some list I curated willy-nilly this week; it's an actual paper list that my kids have been slowly chipping away at since 2018 when we were doing everything possible to avoid the flu. Right now is a lot like that: a time to avoid everyone.

List of Trails pt. 1
Kristen Pacheco/ Townsquare Media

The trails are easy and have passed the 3-6-year-old approval test. The trails are remarkably close by, perfect for when kids randomly decide they are done and ready to go home. And lastly, the trails are some of the most socially distancing things we’ve ever done, oftentimes seeing no more than five other people while out.

So while we all try to get through uncharted waters together, take some time to take a hike together, breathe in some fresh air, and try to make each day different. Your mental health will thank you.

If you try a hike and love it, I’d love to know. If you think there is a hike I’m missing, I’d also love to know.