Please rise

Since I obsessed about sitting in my previous post, I will make up for it by getting on my feet.

For four glorious days this week, I got to walk to my destination, instead of depressing an accelerator to move from Point A to Point B. It's all about location.

Walk number 1: While cleaning out the grandparents' apartment last weekend, we discovered a strong need for Magic Erasers, as nothing else would remove three years' worth of grime from the refrigerator and the walls. I quickly volunteered to walk "across the street" to the store. I believe it was faster to navigate by foot through the complex, down two blocks, and across the busy road and parking lot than it would have been to drive the vehicle over the same route. I rediscovered my need to live within walking distance of places I often visit.

Walk number 2: For once, we had a beautiful Monday night in March, so the child and I (with special thanks to Daylight Savings Time) walked to her golf lesson at the local community center (formerly our library... the new library is quite a haul on foot). We saw birds, we skipped, and we enjoyed a car-less night.

Walk number 3: The final two walks don't count toward lower carbon emissions, because a vehicle was still used, but I did get to walk somewhere. I stopped at the park on the way home from work, with the assumption that I'd find the other members of my household. They were located, and the child and I walked home while the husband drove.

Walk number 4: Again, thanks to mild weather, the child and I walked to my parents' house for dinner. The husband drove again, since the child wasn't going to last for the walk back, and it doesn't stay light and warm THAT long yet. Still, a 1.5-mile walk is better than nothing.

In summary, those are the three locations to which I can reasonably walk from our house, plus a bonus destination. This week has given me a taste of what living in my dream "walking community" would be like every day.

Move along.