walks

The Third Time’s the Charm?

For the last month or so, Ladybug, Chickadee, and I have been attempting to walk five to six miles every weekday morning. Walking has been part of our school day when the weather is nice anyway, but that was more of a quick two-mile jaunt. We decided as we got closer to our trip this summer, we wanted to lengthen our walk to prepare ourselves, and so as school wound down and then ended for the year, we have been able to dedicate more time in the morning to a longer walk, and for the most part, we’ve had good luck in getting out every day, even if it meant walking in a bit of rain.

On Monday, we were expecting storms in the afternoon, so I wanted to make sure we got started early…we didn’t wait until after my planned grocery shopping trip. I double-checked the weather before we went out at about 8:15, and the radar was clear, and the forecast said the storms weren’t supposed to start until about 1:00, so our timing was great. Or so I thought. We hadn’t even walked quite a mile when it started raining (which wouldn’t have been a big deal because it wasn’t too heavy), and then lightning, which sent us hastening home.

After I did the grocery shopping, we decided to try again. We had about an hour before the next round of storms was supposed to start, so we set out again, altering our route to make sure we wouldn’t get too far from home in case the forecast was wrong again. Actually, while we had a little more rain, there wasn’t any further thunder for the rest of the day, so things were looking good. We were enjoying our walk, there was a nice breeze, and then I felt a thunk on my head. I assumed it was a “helicopter” seed pod blown down from one of the trees we had just passed, and reached up to shake it out of my hair. I felt it, but it was kind of tangled in, so I became a little more insistent in trying to free it. And then I realized that I didn’t have a helicopter in my hair, but rather an insect. And it was just my luck that it happened to be a wasp that stung me right on the scalp before flying away…and I’m pretty sure I heard it laughing as it went.

We still hadn’t met our goal of our daily five miles, but we went home, one of us feeling rather defeated. I was also feeling pretty determined at that point, though, so before dinner, I set out by myself to finish my walk and hit my steps for the day.

I guess the third time really is the charm, because I had no further mishaps. No bad weather, no injuries, nothing out of the ordinary. For some reason, though, I didn’t really feel like I had accomplished as much…the whole walk just kind of fell flat after all the trouble I had!

The Last Time

It’s official.

The state of Illinois has ordered schools to remain closed through the end of the school year.

It’s a decision I knew was coming, and one I agree with, but it’s still hard. My heart hurts for Moose, who won’t get to finish his eighth grade year at his junior high, who won’t get to have his final band concert, or walk at his 8th grade graduation. My heart hurts for the teachers, who don’t get to see their students every day, too. And for all of the school district employees who have unexpectedly found themselves without work.

But my heart breaks, most of all, selfishly, for what I’m losing. Our afternoon walks to and from Moose’s school.

Almost since he started early childhood education at the neighboring elementary school at the age of three, we’ve made a habit of walking to pick him up when the weather was nice. Not during the very early days in preschool, I guess, because our subdivision was so new then that it didn’t yet have a stop light. But once they installed a crossing, we would walk in the fall and the spring. Initially, those treks would involve a stroller, as first Ladybug, and then Chickadee, was too small to make the two-mile round-trip on foot. Eventually, though, we ditched the stroller, and all enjoyed walking together.

There were occasional days when interest was low. The rare cold winter morning when, because Ryan needed the car for something, we would have to walk, regardless of the temperature or precipitation. Or a hot spring afternoon, where walking again was a necessity, but not necessarily enjoyable. For the most part, though, we chose our walks when the weather was pleasant, and it was something I looked forward to as the temperature cooled off every fall, and as it warmed up in the spring. We would notice changing leaves, blossoms and flowers, and animals along the way. And we would talk…about everything. Sometimes, the children would recite memory work for catechesis or poems they memorized for school. Or we would talk about current events, or plans for upcoming holidays, or just whatever we were interested in at the time. The topics have changed over the years, but the enthusiasm for discussion remained the same.

I knew this would be the last year, after so many years throughout early childhood, elementary school, and junior high, that these walks would be an option…the high school is not even close to within walking distance. And I intended to make the most of our time. Which I think I did…to a point. To the best of my somewhat limited ability, anyway. We walked many afternoons in the fall, making up for the days in 2018 when I couldn’t do so because of my broken ankle. And I had plans to continue to do so this spring. We did walk a few times in 2020, on the rare nice winter day. But if I had known that March 11 would be the very last time we would make that trip on foot together…I don’t even know. I don’t think I could have enjoyed it more. Maybe I would have attempted to slow the moment down. Maybe I would have tried to make the walk last a little longer. But if I had known then that would be the last time, I hope I would have done something to savor that last opportunity just a little bit more, especially knowing what I know now about what was coming…