Walking

That active verb sounds so simple. Ater the slow wobbly start of children, the motion becomes intuitive. We use the motion to transport ourselves without focusing : going several places, carrying objects to relocate, ignoring surroundings, and then reentering our world away from where we started.

Coming to confidence in walking arrived slowly for me. Gangly was the best adjective for my appearance with long legs and arms and a dubious sense of balance. Strategies like learning to cross the left arm over the body when the right foot goes forward still has to be consciously chosen. Running had/has no speed to note and I had to channel Snoopy the Beagle to keep it up. He would chant to himself,” Foot pick up. Foot go down.” Checking for cracks that even slightly offer the chance to stub a toe is part of the process.

Forget the standard of 10,000 steps to perfect heath. For my mid-life crisis, I mastered circling Rice campus across the street from the Rice Blvd. house in time to shower and make it to teach a first period class. That was an all time high of 6, 6667 plus or minus steps. Eventually that number has been enough to keep heart beating at an acceptable rate and blood flowing to nourish and restore cells. Two age related happenings slowed me down. Eighty-six years of streps stressed a vertebra and requires limiting daily effort. Eyes aren’t feet, yet stepping forth with clear vision does make a difference.

Comment on the last day of February. If I haven’t mentioned, I am going to Barcelona,yes, the city in Spain. This will be a March trip with members of the family. While I won’t eat late night meals, I will need to arise and be ready for adventure as a day demands. In mid-January, I started my own improve going forth regime. WSJ warm up exercises, a base distance that counts as minimum for a woman of my age, and some tack on steps just for strengthening. If you choose to sit in the bleachers and clap as I round the curve, I may not stop to acknowledge, yet I will appreciate the attention. This very morning I took a no turning back until you get there walk to have breakfast with a neighborhood friend. Thirty minutes was required; however, the distance was covered without my stretching out on the sidewalk.

I’m not sure this is the most faithful translation. I just loved rolling the words off my tongue as a daily encouragement.

¹² So then, brace up and reinvigorate and set right your slackened and weakened and drooping hands and strengthen your feeble and palsied and tottering knees,

Hebrews 12:12 Amplified Bible Classic Edition