by Mere

Created on: May 24, 2009

Many times my telephone would ring and on the opposite end of the line would be a familiar voice, my friend from around the corner. Her question was always the same one; Do you have your walking shoes on? We would soon be on our way. Sometimes there would be no telephone call. We would just appear at one another's front door with the greeting Let's walk.

We walked five miles every evening taking a different route each time. During those walks we laughed, we cried, we poured our hearts out to one another without reservation.

So well I remember the evening we left her house and within minutes she told me about something suspicious on her breast. A few evenings later she shared with me the doctor's diagnosis. It was not good news. Surgery was imminent.

The surgery and recovery were successful. The walks resumed. The heart-toheart chats continued. By this time her thirty year marriage was falling to pieces. Chances of reconciliation were nil. She could no longer tolerate the emotional abuse of her husband. She walked out one night and moved back home to her parent's home.

I no longer had a walking partner. I did walk but the walks were sporadic and shorter. I like company when I walk.

Little over three years ago a new walking partner came into my life. Who? - my first grandchild, a darling little girl who has stayed with me since she was 6 weeks old while my daughter and her husband go to work.

A walk has been part of our daily routine except for rainy or windy days. Currently I am seeing the world through the eyes of a three year old. Most days we pass a house that has an assortment of rocks as part of the landscaping. We must stop each time to decide which rock is our favorite one. At holiday times comments are made about the decorations at each house along our way. What fun it is to walk with Mary Gail whether it is to just notice the birds or smell some flowers along the way. We sometimes do see someone to visit with for a few minutes.

There are other walkers I see in the neighborhood. One man that lives down the street became a widower a few summers ago. He started walking around the block every day. Last summer a widow bought a house across the street from him. Now he is walking with her hand in hand. My neighbor friend across the street leaves with her husband every morning when he goes to work. They stop for coffee and then she walks home from the coffee shop. I can set the clock by one young neighbor who walks by every afternoon. It is 4:30 and he is on his way to pick up his 2.5 year old son at the daycare lady's house on the next street. About 10 minutes later I see him with the little guy. Another neighbor walks her dog every evening after she returns from work.

Everyone has a reason to walk.

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