Walking To The Beat

Lisa and I used to walk just about every evening after dinner.  Some nights the kids came with us.  Later on, when Abby got a little older it was just Matt.  Eventually, he stopped walking with us also.  However, Lisa and I kept at it… Kids or not we always took the dogs with us.  Lisa with Ally, her little Yorkshire Terrier, and me with Madison, my great big Bernese Mountain dog.

Many nights we would wind up stopping and talking with neighbors and friends.  However, more often then not it was just the two of us, walking and talking.  We would talk about kids, home, work, finances and anything in between.  Occasionally, we would wind up fussing about something but most nights it was just a great way to catch up with each other and share some quiet time with one another. 

I especially liked it when the weather turned cold.  Since Lisa was so cold natured she would get close to me and sneak her arm around mine and get as close as she could without tripping one of us up.  We would spend the entire walk wrapped arm in arm and her cheek pressed against my shoulder.

After Lisa died, I couldn’t keep up the tradition… it was just too hard to go out there without her and I quickly lost the habit.  Besides, my mind was on too many other things and I was just too overwhelmed to make the time to do it.  Okay, maybe that was a good excuse… but I truly hated walking in the evening without her.

Something changed this past week, however, and for whatever reason I started walking again.  I have been walking most nights this week and it’s really been enjoyable.  I just stick those ear buds in my ears and crank up my I-pod to keep me company.  I think I might just be getting back into an old habit that I am sure would do me some good.

Don’t get me wrong, I would certainly rather walk with Lisa but I am learning that walking with Boz Scaggs or Diana Krall ain’t so bad either.