Watching the Neighbors Walk By
I sit by the window and watch my neighbors walking, chatting, and enjoying the warmer weather. Families are spending time together. I watch parents and children go by on their bikes like a family of ducks moving in a zigzagged line.
It is easy to figure out who lives together and who lives next to each other. Neighbors are separated by six feet; families walk closer to one another. My sister and I walk for miles down the river paths. We maintain about four feet between us. We don't live together but we still need some closeness.
From my window, I realize that, for some people, current events are giving them more time to spend with one another. Children are reuniting with parents and siblings. Partners are reconnecting with one another. In many ways, life has slowed down for them. Some people have taken up running. Other have returned to biking. Many are walking.
I wish that we all could experience this slower pace to life and a sense of reconnection. But I know that most people are experiencing a great deal of stress and anxiety. People fear for their loved ones and those around them. Some worry about food, bills, loans, and jobs. Some are lonely while others wished they were alone. We our frightened for the future.
Beginning Our Walk
Hayden and I walked quite a before the pandemic and I’m finding that we are walking even more now. One difference between before and after the virus is that my sister, niece, and daughter walk with us in the afternoons. No one is willing to walk with us in the morning. That’s ok. We enjoy that time alone. My daughter walks with us the least amount and she complains that we walk too fast. I’m almost 40 years older than her. I guess old muscles endure. Her complaints bring back loving memories of me, my sister, and my Dad running together. He always let us set our pace and, once we were done, he would continue to run for a few more miles at a much faster pace. I guess we were a bit wimpy back then. My sister and I are not as kind as my Dad so we don’t slow down for the younger two.
Most people we meet are friendly on our walks. We all smile and send little bits of encouragement to each other. Once in a while, we meet with a highly charged individual. One man didn’t like the idea of my niece’s 12-pound dog getting too close to his big mutt. So, he coughed loudly and snarled at her (the man, not the dog). Another woman yelled at us because she felt like we didn’t give her enough space. Ironically, we thought she pulled over to the side to take a break. Normally, we walk likes ducks in a row but, because she veered off onto the grass, we continued to walk two-by two. We kept our distance, but she assumed the worse. I understand. People are scared and we have no idea what others are experiencing. I think we all need to be patient.
More to come.