It’s been an amazing spring. The weather got warm and pretty much melted all snow by the middle of March. From there, it’s been largely beautiful. We’ve had a couple of cold days here and there, but this has largely been one for the record books. Yesterday, it reached 70 in perfectly blue skies.
I changed my life for a lot of reasons but I told my staff once that a driver for me was a beautiful Tuesday in May, when I envisioned myself sitting outside on my back deck working. Yesterday, I got a beautiful Tuesday in April. And it was amazing.
So, what does one do on a beautiful Tuesday in April? Well, if you’re like me and you’ve gained nearly the full Covid 19 pounds, you get back to walking in your pretty spring. So yesterday, I went for a four-mile walk.
Now, for me to go for four-mile walk, I pass three houses. I also have to turn from our “quiet” street onto one of the more busy streets where I’ll encounter more car traffic. On our road? I often don’t see a car unless its close to the end of the work day. On the other road? I could see 5-7 cars. Otherwise, it’s me out there with the birds and little critters for company. Occasionally, I’ll see a dead snake on the road – which is never good for my anxiety about snakes – and I take pepper spray in case I see a bear.
But the walks have become cathartic for me. Sometimes, I download an Audible book to accompany on my walk; other times, I just listen to nature. I often ponder life out there on the side of the road, while at the same time wondering if I should walk on the berm or walk in the gravel beside the berm. The next thought may be, should I slow down even more? How would that be possible and what we would do for health insurance? And then I’ll spot a bird that I’ve slowly been learning to identify. Then, it’s back to life questions. Should we call the contractor as soon as we are vaccinated? We don’t really want him to start before Ironman Lake Placid. And speaking of Lake Placid, I’ll tell myself, do I need another vacation planned? Then, it goes back to nature again. Aw, look, I’ll tell myself internally. This little bush is starting to push out leaves.
When I finally make that turn to walk up our driveway, I have a sense of calm and serenity that walking gives me. I’ll have sorted out any work problems, renovation plans and life questions that my busy mind was too overwhelmed to figure out before. As I trudge up the slight incline to our back door, I’ll think that I need to finish the rest of my day: cleaning up the kitchen, making dinner, taking a shower, feeding the cats. But getting the walk in? It just feels good.
It’s started to dawn on me recently, though, that most of my life planning happens on the side of the road. It’s where I decided to leave my job and then that I did need to reduce my time again. It’s also where I decided to take a healthy attitude towards my sister’s illness and not live in fear. It’s where I talk to my mom and God when I need to. It’s where I plan the next steps in my life – both the mundane and the monumental. As I stroll along that little less travelled path past the fishing ponds and the farmer’s fields, I get clarity of not just purpose but of action.
These days, as I make that walk in this incredible spring weather, it also fills me with hope. Hope for warmer days and brighter sunshine. Hope for a wedding about to happen and a new life begun. Hope for an end to the pandemic that has delivered so much loss in so many ways. And hope that this life I’ve built that I sometimes forget to treasure will continue to provide the simple peace and joy that it did in the very beginning. It’s a pretty good gig here out past nowhere. I just need to remember that.
The Yuppie Homesteader 