I'm grateful for my every day morning walks.
As I've been able to walk even more consistently this year, I've loved seeing all the familiar scenes change with the seasons. (Like this project I did once!) And like this lovely frost covered grassy-ness from this morning (above) that was all bright and green not long ago. We live in such a beautiful place - the mountains! the trees! the great grassy fields of the park - all so beautiful.
And I have felt so grateful every day that I can be walking! When I first got arthritis (and didn't yet know what was going on) there was a long time when I wondered if I'd ever again walk without pain. And even though I feel so much better now, I remember that keenly and know that many others still feel that way. So I feel grateful for all these days that I am able to, and especially this summer and fall where I've been able to stretch my daily walks a little longer and longer.
Probably because there has been such a lack of other connections right now, I have really loved the familiar faces I see each morning. The brisk walker that is as strong as I hope to be in a decade or so when I'm her age. The group of 4 and group of 2 chatting ladies. The quiet man with his dog who always looks up with a nod just before I pass. The tall husband who takes his time, sometimes with a cane and sometimes without. And his can't-slow-down wife who zig-zags across the street back and forth so she can match her pace to his.The teenagers in tee-shirts shivering at the bus stops. The young family with one child in a pack, two in strollers and one more hurrying to keep up - always amazing me that they're all up and about when I'm still mostly waking up. And so many more that come and go. I've loved the chance just to see these familiar faces and say a few good mornings each day.
