Daily Activities Part 2

One of the things I committed to when Mom and Dad came out was that they spend as much time as possible going for outdoor walks before the snow started falling and the temps started tanking. 3 years ago when they visited, they went for a walk in our neighborhood. Out of nowhere a dog appeared and attacked Dad. He ended up having to go to the ER for an antibiotic and the start of 3 rather painful rabies shots. Since then they have been leery of walking in the neighborhood, so I told them at first, "you don't have to go into the next street, just start out on our street, go to the top of the hill, and come back home. " So that is what they did for a couple of days. Then they went downhill into the next street to a stop sign before coming back. Then I started walking with them beyond the stop sign past one house, then two houses, then 4 houses, then 6.

One week after I fell off my bike and sprained my ankle and my knee, and one day after I completed a sprint Triathlon (for those not in the know, that means super short distance), I took dad for a walk, and this is how it went:

" I overhear Mom asking Dad if he wants to go for a walk. Dad says something about raining outside, and then Mom says, "okay fine if you think it's raining we won't go for a walk." I tell her, "you know it's not raining now." and she says, "Do you want to take Dad for a walk then, he thinks it's still raining." So I say, "Dad, let's go out! Look, it's sunny outside!" So we put on our shoes. (now since I have a bad leg, we both have to sit on the bench side by side to put on our sneakers. It is sad that it has come to this: I am slower than my dad at putting on my sneakers and tying the laces. And as we walk out the door, he's looking around confused, then says,"Oh, is my wife not coming?" "No dad, she's not coming." "Oh, I didn't know that." And off we go, with Shep. And Dad's pace is not too slow for me today, cause my legs refuse to move any faster. We see the same couple with the beautiful white dog that we saw last week, we walk past one more house than last time, and Dad waves to everybody he sees, including the school bus. I could get used to this."

A friend and former colleague is teaching mindfulness to school children, and one of the things I have learned from her is that you are trying to keep your mind on the present moment. Usually that is a huge challenge for me. If I'm walking or running or biking, I'm usually plugged into music, or my mind is mulling over something that needs to be done, a problem that needs to be solved, or what dinner is going to be that day. But when you're walking with an octagenarian who has an arthritic knee and dementia, a dog, and a really bum leg, you are forced to be in the present moment. There is no chance for your mind to wander. Just focusing on the mechanics of painless forward movement with a leash in one hand and an eye on another person takes a lot of attention. And when I learn to relax and be content with that, it's a good walk, even if I'm burning about 25 calories an hour :).