On Walks

Although I promised myself that Milo and I would continue our daily walks until the sidewalks became impassable with snow and ice, this first real cold snap of the winter has the stroller gathering some dust. Walks have been a great help to me, in a number of ways. Of course there is the exercise aspect. I credit walking with losing that first round of pregnancy weight back in the spring. Walks around our neighborhood, to the grocery store, or for coffee have kept me moving and pushing around 20 pounds of baby up the slight hills of Clintonville have kept those calories burning.

Part of the reason we really like this neighborhood is because it is walkable. The sidewalks actually lead to useful places such as Kroger and Starbucks. It's also fun to just walk up and down the different streets, seeing how the houses are decorated for the holidays or who is renovating. When all else fails, we count cats on our walks.

A quick jaunt around the neighborhood gets us out of the house and the change of scenery is always helpful. I had come to think of our afternoon walks as a reboot for our day. Baby is cranky and won't nap, Mom is losing patience and would like some quiet time? Out with the stroller where we had just enough distance from one another to peacefully make it through the rest of the day. The fresh air lends some perspective I think.

I miss our walks and I am hoping that either the weather warms up or I get brave enough to get out there and walk anyway. Mittens, coats and blankets are made for a purpose, right?