More Thoughts on Walking

Thought #1:Waking up

Many years ago, when Elizabeth first came up with the sadistic idea of walking at 5 a.m., I didn't think it would last. But it did.

A year or so after that, I thought I would eventually reach a point where getting up that early would get easier. But it hasn't.

It still takes me a huge amount of time and a significant amount of cussing to drag myself out of bed after the alarm goes off on weekdays. On weekends, however,  when I could sleep in, I wake up wide awake hours before the alarm goes off. I think my newly developed inability to sleep in might be some sort of masochistic response my body has come up with to punish me for subjecting it to all of those early mornings.

Thanks, Liz.

Thought #2: Back to Nature

When the weather got cold sometime around November, my intrepid walking buddy and I started walking/stair-running/ramp climbing inside my junior high.

After I got back from my spring break adventure, Diane and I went back to walking outside. We prefer walking outside for a variety of reasons, including...
1)The beautiful stars
2) The fresh, non-8th-grader-scented air
3) The fact that, if there happens to be inclement weather, we can take it as a heavenly sign that we are supposed to go back to bed. We LOVE inclement weather. A lot.

Thought #3: Skunks

The only problem with walking outside is the skunks, or more specifically, my fear of getting skunk-ta-fied by a surprised critter early in the morning. Over the past week and a half, on four non-consecutive days, the air in my neighborhood (the neighborhood in which we walk) has had a distinctive skunk-funk going on. I know the skunks are there somewhere. Waiting. And it freaks me out.

Thought #4: Patterns

Elizabeth walked with me for over three years, and then she married Ratha.

Then Krystal walked with me for a couple of years, and now she is engaged to Reed.

Coincidence? I think not.

What I am having trouble figuring out, however, is what my newest walking buddy (Krystal's sweet mom)  is going to get out of the deal.

I mean, Diane is already married to a very nice bishop and even has an assortment of grand kids, so what prize will she find at the end of the early morning walking rainbow?

My money is on a call to a mission presidency. But don't tell Diane. I'm not sure that is a blessing that is will be wanting in the next couple of years, and it's not easy to find someone who is willing to get up so early for a walking/talk therapy session.

Especially when we have been blessed with so little inclement weather.

Now, if you will excuse me, I need to pray for rain and then hit the sack.