Musings and Wonderings

As far as I can remember, I've loved to walk anywhere.  When I was a girl growing up in Pittsburgh, I would walk with my mother and my sister down sidewalks made of red bricks in herringbone designs trying not to step on a crack and save my mother's back.  Eventually I would be reprimanded for dawdling-sadly my mom didn't know I was saving her back health.  Black patent leather shoes angling into brick outlines made a rhythm of hopping and hoping to land inside the lines.

I grew up in the city and I recall one street that had many oak trees and a black cast iron fence edging a grand property.  In the fall my sister and I would walk through the fallen brown crunchy leaves kicking them high up in the air, laughing and giggling.  We also walked to school daily. five or six blocks passing crossing guards in blue and white uniforms. Near the end of fall, my mother would bundle me up in a hat and scarf and once around the bend when she couldn't see me-off would go the hat and scarf, I wanted freedom.

Speed forward to my college days in a small town doing the exact same behavior-walking through fallen leaves on tree lined streets.  My friend and I would walk to the edge of town, stopping at a children's playground for a swing, a rest, and a chat before walking back to campus. I met my husband there in a few years, oh the aimless walks we would take-where we were going didn't matter, it was all about the conversations!

When our children were born we would strap on our son in a baby carrier and our daughter in a stroller and we'd walk.  Vacations in Cape May NJ found us walking tree lined streets carrying our beach toys and towels-talking laughing.  Hikes at state parks where we would look for salamanders under rocks in a creek.  Walking to the bus stop every morning and afternoon saying hello and goodbye.  The first five minutes of getting off the school bus had the greatest detail of their days. As they aged and were in middle school our walks included lugging around a french horn for her and a baritone for him for music lessons.

This time of year begs for walks, leaves are falling-the season is quickly changing.  My walks include my husband and Frodo and we share events from our days.  We notice neighborhood changes, a tree gone, a house built, a new flock of ducks and the elusive heron who sometimes visits the pond when I do not have a camera at hand. Waving to neighbors, stopping to photo insects, flowers, trees, plants....

always moving forward.