This morning was pretty cold when we started out and pretty dark too.  It wasn’t quite tights-under-your-sweats cold and I had on just the right layers to make for brisk walking and no stripping down half way through.  It was perfect really.  I had on a bright red fleece that, for some reason today, reminded me of a fleece I used to wear walking over twenty five years ago.  It belonged to my former husband’s late brother who once ran track at TZ High School.  It was old school fleece, thick and nubbley with the sewn in cuffs and zippers at the legs so you could get in and out easily.

There was a time when I walked every morning no matter the weather or the amount of sun light.  It was a terrific walk, usually with my sister-in-law, around my neighborhood.  We did a one mile loop around the tiny little park with the duck pond, up the hill, through the back roads then back on to Oak Tree Road and home.  We talked everyday about everything and the walk went very quickly, especially in the winter months. And then we didn’t walk anymore.  Things changed and I was very hurt for many years by our abrupt halt to the morning ritual.  I know why and I no longer fault anyone and have finally let it go.  I felt the hurt leave my mind and body as I watched her walk away from my new home, irony at its best.

When I first arrived on Stowe Lane I ventured out for a walk with the girls and it was quite an escapade with two scared rescues.  This morning I realized just how far we’ve come.  We’ve honed our lives and our walk to fit where we are in life.  We’ve reversed the route just recently, originally to avoid the lunatic dog that the woman around the corner keeps off leash, to include the hill side of Mark Twain.

What I also realized this morning with the chill in the air, the red fleece, the hill, the neighbors waving on their way to work, the sidewalks, the duck pond on Mark Twain, the very good company I was walking with is that I didn’t lose anything.  I’ve gained a neighborhood, two walking partners who listen to every word I say (mostly) and the comfort of a home that is blessed.

Ever wonder where you’d end up if you took your dog for a walk and never once pulled back on the leash? ~Robert Brault