Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2005. Mattie was almost three years old. As I look at this photo, I realize Peter and I were in the midst of painting the walls of our first floor. Frankly I don't even remember doing this as I thought all the painting we did occurred after Mattie died. So much for my memory. As you can see Mattie had his Easter sunglasses on and was beaming! I loved Mattie's smile and incredible energy. It is hard to believe that on April 4, Mattie would have turned 21 years old.
Quote of the day: When you go through something, you learn to appreciate the little things - the birds, trees, flowers. ~ Grizz Chapman
Recently my lifetime friend, Karen, sent me an article entitled, Whatever the Problem, It’s Probably Solved by Walking. Naturally the title alone caught my attention. Most likely because I think walking is therapeutic. I love the opening two paragraphs of the article, as the author describes walking as something all of us may take for granted. Basically we do it to get from point A to point B. We may do it to get to work, to get chores done, or to sightsee for example. But is walking just that..... a physical activity? Well the quotes below, captured in the article, highlight ALL the reasons I LOVE walking. NONE of which have anything to do with exercising per se.
- Hippocrates proclaimed that “walking is man’s best medicine.” The good doctor also knew that walking provided more than mere physical benefits when he suggested: “If you are in a bad mood, go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood, go for another walk.”
- Soren Kierkegaard agreed when he confessed, “I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.”
- Charles Dickens was even more direct. “If I could not walk far and fast,” he wrote, “I think I should just explode and perish.”
- Thomas Mann assured us, “Thoughts come clearly while one walks.”
- J.K. Rowling observed that there is “nothing like a nighttime stroll to give you ideas.”
- Elizabeth von Arnim concluded that walking “is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things.”
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau admitted, “There is something about walking that animates and activates my ideas.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche, “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
- Rebecca Solnit pointed out that walking “is how the body measures itself against the earth.”
- John Muir keenly observed, “I only went out for a walk and … going out, I found, was really going in.”
- Henry David Thoreau wrote, “I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.”
I love to walk for every reason mentioned above. Most of the reasons are emotional, finding one's self, being connected to something bigger than one's self, and the development of new ways of thinking. It is hard to believe that such a simple activity could produce so many beneficial results. I know when I lived in the city, I did much more walking than I do in the suburbs. I was more physically active, and both Sunny and I seemed happier. We bonded over our strides together, meeting new people, and seeing our surroundings through the changing seasons.
All I know is I miss my walks. Today was a particularly frustrating day. For no exact reason than just about everything. I am tired and yet no matter how I feel, I am expected to do everything and be happy about it. My daily tasks are not glamorous, but I manage through them. However, I think because of what my life has become, some conversations tick me off. My dad keeps bringing up Peter, Peter's achievements and successes, and his talents. I agree, as I am Peter's biggest fan, but it is hard to not want to scream, as I am a person too. I have feelings and I would like to think that I have my own achievements. But to my parents, my professional side is non-existent. Instead, my role is to meet their needs. I remind myself that they aren't the same people I once knew, and for the most part I can rationalize these comments. But then there are times when I am exhausted, HUMAN, and I just want to flip out.
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