A Good Day To Walk

We are experiencing our annual last cold front of spring and it is glorious.  The morning temperature is in the 50's with daytime highs of 70ish with the added bonus of low humidity.  I know that the heaven that God has planned for me is more amazing than the human brain can even begin to conceive of, but, if I could choose heaven weather - this would be it.  Today is last day of March, and in my corner of Texas that means that hot, humid weather is just a breath away.  I detest hot humid weather.  I have lived in Houston for 32 years, one would think I would be used to it by now.  Can one ever get used to living in a sauna?  I think not.

Cheyanne considers walking to school just one step away from adulthood.  Ah, the independence and freedom of the open sidewalk.  I knew the we would wake up to good walking weather, so I decided that today was going to be the day.  Low humidity means I won't break out in a sweat before I even take a step; my fingers won't swell before I get to the end of the street, and most importantly, I can enjoy the process.  So, last night I gave her the good news.  She could barely sleep for the excitement.

It is amazing how focused she can be when properly motivated.  Without prompting, she got dressed, fixed and ate her breakfast and was ready to leave 10 minutes before our scheduled departure.  As we walked out the door for our adventure we were greeted by cool dry air which I found refreshing and stimulating.  Chey, with her skinny little body, pushed her hands down into the pocket of her hoodie and trudged forward as though this was the frozen tundra.

Midway down the street she pauses to say, "This is your idea of a good morning to walk to school?"  I gave her the chance to ride in comfort, but there was no turning back now.  She was committed.

Around the corner and down the street, I asked her if things looked different walking rather than riding in the car.  At first she couldn't tell any difference then she excitedly said, "Look, Mimi!"  I followed her gaze and saw a mother duck with six baby ducklings walking across the front yard of the house across the street.  We paused for a moment to just watch the momma and her babies.  It was such a sweet sight.  I told her that we probably wouldn't have seen them if we had been in the car - so it WAS a good day to walk to school.

She thought I was going to let her walk the rest of the way to school alone, but like the momma duck I had to make sure she was safe, so we continued to the end of this long street.  At the last corner I let her go.  Once she turned the corner and walked a few feet she was on school property and I felt safe to let her feel like a big kid.

She is ready to be grown up and I am hanging on to each moment because before I know it, she will be grown up and gone.  I am learning to walk slowly through the days of my life, savoring my sweet grandbabies as long as I can.  These are the moments that make our tight living arrangements worth the sacrifice.  So, I came home, took an Aleve, drank a cup of coffee and enjoyed the quiet.