Winter in Switzerland. Big sky. Clean air. And a very excited little dog.
Winter is over, and what a winter it was! Best. Season. Ever.
While the world was still finding its feet, one thing remained gloriously, wonderfully open: the mountains. And Mummy Zuma, wise as she is, knew exactly what her soul needed. "The mountain," she'd say, eyes already brightening. "It's good for the mental health." (I always thought she said "mentawelf", I spent weeks wondering what elves had to do with skiing. 🧙)
One magical day, she decided to bring me along. Little stuffed Zuma, ready for his first proper Swiss mountain adventure. 🐾
Switzerland has what our family calls "Big Sky." You have to see it to understand, vast, clean, impossibly clear, stretching out in every direction like the earth is taking a deep, slow breath. We took the gondola up, swinging gently in the crisp air, the world shrinking below us into tiny ant-like figures carving through the powder.
Up there, everything feels different. Quieter. More alive. The kind of silence that isn't really silence at all, it's the mountain breathing, the wind whispering through the pines, the crunch of snow underfoot. I pressed my nose to the glass and breathed it all in. 🌨️
Just above the gondola station was the magic carpet, not the flying kind (disappointing, I know), but a rolling conveyor belt that ferried us even higher, through a tunnel of clear plastic while my naughty brother lobbed snowballs at his friends outside. I watched children laughing, tumbling, shrieking with joy in the snow, and felt something warm bloom in my chest.
This is what children need. Fresh air. Wild spaces. The feeling of being tiny against something enormous and beautiful.
Then came the sledge. 🛷
We grabbed hold with all paws, pointed downhill, and — WHOOOOSH.
The wind folded my ears into extraordinary shapes. My jowls pinned back in an expression somewhere between pure joy and mild terror. The mountain blurred past in a rush of white and cold and exhilarating, heart-thumping, soul-singing speed.
And then, the bottom. Over in seconds. Absolutely worth every single moment.
I bounced in circles. I demanded we go again. And again. AND AGAIN.
If this is what looking after your mental health feels like, bring it on. 🌿
What about you? What does your soul need when the world feels a little heavy? For me, the answer will always be: outside. Always outside.
Much love,
Zuma XX
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