Walk 226. 1.6 miles

Walk 225. Morning mist

So pretty walking in Magnolia this morning. Went with a friend and had a nice talk. 3.6 miles

Walk 224. Stroll with E, then the kids

Walked with E to the library to return a few books (impossibly beautiful warm day after church), then walked with the kids up the hill to a friend's birthday party. 1 mile (it counts!)

Walk 223. 2.8 miles

(I'm blogging in hindsight, and I literally don't even remember this walk. What did we do today again??? Oh....rented a violin for S and then went to the Women's mtg then B&N with friends. I must have walked in the morning.)

Walk 222. Put it off all day...

so I walked in the dark. 1.9 miles

p.s. it was a big day for me/S. We found out S was cast in PNB's Nutcracker! She auditioned the Sunday before & we'd been on pins/needles waiting for the cast list to be posted today. We prepared her that she might not get it and it would be disappointing but okay (They give out roles first based on who will fit the costume, then on dancing ability) and it was a good experience to even audition. But I was so stressed/worried about helping her deal with it if she didn't make it. So all morning I was too stressed to talk then when we found out in the afternoon I basically floated around on a cloud of relief and happiness that she will in fact make her 9-yr-old dream come true. Going for an actual walk today was definitely an afterthought. 

Walk 221. Break in the rain

Morning walk with Elizabeth. 4 miles

Walk 220. Feeling sick

J fell asleep in the car on the way home from ballet drop-off. Was hoping to transfer him into the stroller and go on a long walk. He woke up. We casually walked around the village and got supplies for AD. It's hard getting excited for walks when I feel yuck. J has been sick since Monday & everyone is feeling it. Oh, it rained almost all day, but when we went out around sunset the sky was a pretty stripe pink and grayish-blue. About a mile.

Walk 219. GL while talking to my folks

Fun to talk to my mom and catch her up on everything that's been going on since school began. Super fun to talk to my dad about last night's Giants/Dodgers game (that went to extra innings) and make fun of BB. 2.8 miles

Walk 218. 1.5 miles

J stayed home sick. Everyone is feeling crummy. Went on a short walk around the village to get some fresh air and supplies (medicine, soup, sprite, OJ, vanilla wafers) to help him feel better.

Walk 217. 2.7 miles

Walk 216. 1.2 miles

This was barely a walk. Went to "The Market" (aka Pike's Pl market) with my kiddos to enjoy the lovely Saturday afternoon. Strolled around the tiny park, looked at all the goodies, sampled fruit, almost bought a big bouquet of dahlias (I think they were dahlias) and headed back just under an hour (free parking time at Cost Plus). Stopped at the new Pagliacci's in Interbay, then went to Ella Bailey where J perfected his "Sea of Lightning" move and S worked on decreasing her fime up the climbing wall. Wonderful Saturday afternoon.

Walk 215. 3.5 miles

Walk 214. 3 miles

Walk 213. 3.5 miles

Walk 212. 2.5 miles

Walk 211. 2.4 miles

Walk 210. 1.7 miles

Walk 209. 1.4 miles

Alki

Walk 208. 3.4 miles

Glow sticks, golden gardens, gigantic marshmallows

Walk 207. 3.3 miles

Walk 206. 3.4 miles

Walk 205. 1.4 miles

Walk 204. The friend phase

(And hopefully the end of the non-blogging phase.)

When I first started walking taking time for myself doing something active was a little radical, a little shock to my system. I had to psyche myself up for walks, remind myself to walk, overcome not wanting to walk. It was such a change from my previous life where there really wasn't any space carved out for me and so that need spilled over into looking at the computer, or my phone, or just not being a present mom/wife, etc. (and not that I do any of that perfectly now....I just recognize that everyone needs their own time, own space, own room for just them in a family and it can be hard being a SAHM to give that gift to ourselves.) So, at first my walks were all about thoughts and thinking and letting my mind wander and getting inspired and figuring stuff out. Stuff that was probably totes obvious to everyone around me, but that I just couldn't see for the life I was living. Anyway, that phase was at least a good month. Decompression, thinking, walking, breathing, falling in love with walking, falling in love with myself. Such a good thing.

Next came the music phase. Who knew music was missing from my life so much!?!? I looked forward to my walks so I could rock out. I was so into music when I was younger. I loved going to concerts and having music on all the time. What changed? How did adult life get in the way? E and I got so old and boring so fast (once we became parents). We forgot how to go out and have fun...and for us music is a big part of feeling young. Anyway, it's been so wonderful to open myself up to that life again....to get excited about new bands and plan on going to concerts. Next up is Interpol (one of E's faves) next week.

Now I find myself in the friend phase. Since I began walking I'd walk with friends sporadically. I could take it or leave it. It was nice to be with friends and it helped strengthen my friendships....but I didn't need it. I was fine with walks with my thoughts or walks with music. In fact, I used to kind of prefer those to the friend walks. But now...

I'M LOVING WALKING WITH FRIENDS. I want to walk with a friend every day! It's so weird and so nice. Guess it's just a part of this journey. Different parts of the journey have different needs. Fortunately a lot of friends want to come with me. They've seen me walking around Magnolia and want to join me. It's pretty great and I feel lucky.

So....on with the Friend Phase! Who know what's next? Who knows what's around the corner and what new lessons are to be learned?? Walking is the best.

3.6 miles (with Elizabeth)

Walk 203. Lazy, gorgeous Sunday

Left to walk around 6. Once I stepped outside I knew we were all being silly/wasteful/missing OUR LIFE by staying indoors after church (E napping the kids watching a movie) because a glorious afternoon was happening. What were we doing inside??

It was a lovely walk taking a new path to get to the Blvd, turned around at the stop sign, actually sat and watched the water/boats/West Seattle, then hurried home to make my fam go outside.

2.4 miles

Walk 202. Discovery Park loop

3 miles

Walk 201. Date night

Walk 200. Grand plans

Walk 199. Hello, Green Lake

First day of school, first walk around GL since school let out for summer. Decided to walk it twice. 5.8 miles

Walk 198. 2.7 miles

Walk 197. 3.1 miles

Check out my walk here.