5:50 AM, alarm goes off. I hit snooze and lay there for a bit. When the snooze alarm went off, I groaned & rolled out of bed. Had to turn a light on (ugh! so bright!!) because I didn't pull out my walking stuff last night. duh! Drank a protein shake & let myself out the door. It was 6:10 AM and brighter than it had seemed from inside.
It was probably in the upper 50s. And damp, because it rained overnight. Everything smelled fresh. And a bit like Seattle in some spots. I guess damp pavement & damp trees smell the same wherever you are? Not sure about that, tho, because as I walked on, it smelled more like Vestal. I think the whole Seattle thing was just because it was early morning & damp & I was out walking. But then, as I walked on, I realized that I never would have walked to work at that time of morning and I certainly would not have been wearing Adidas capris, an In-and-Out tee & sneakers!
It was interesting to see my neighborhood waking up. One couple was out running with their dogs. The shrill yapping of those little dogs seemed loud in the still morning. At a couple of houses, a smoker was sitting out on the front step. One appeared to be checking his email. At one house, as I approached, I could see the man in the kitchen. As I walked past, I could hear him running water in the sink. The only person who spoke was a maintenance man as I passed my old elementary school. As I walked past the playground, I could smell the wet wood chips and the freshly cut grass. All new, for the first day of school.
It got me thinking about my first days of school. I know I started school - every year from kindergarten through college (all of them!). My memories are quite vague. I know that early in my kindergarten years, I walked up the street and Betty put me on the bus. She was a neighbor, my mom claims to have no recollection of this. I only rode the bus in kindergarten, so it must have been then, but the time frame is vague. In grades 1 thru 6, I walked to school. I'm sure Mom must have walked me there in the beginning, but I can't be sure. I had a baby sister at home in those early years. Once she started school, did Mom make us walk together? I really don't remember...
Middle school, I walked up the block to catch the bus. I hated the middle school bus. Come to think of it, I remember hating walking to school in 4th grade. I did NOT like my teacher. When it came time for high school, it was back to walking. In those days, you could park on the streets near the high school. When I was in Grade 9, there were all those cute seniors to see on the way to school. I'm not sure why or how, but we (as in my Freshman friends & I) were friends with those cute guys. I don't remember much about walking to school in grades 10 & 11. When I started Grade 12, my sister started Grade 9, so we walked together. Lots of friends to walk with, so that was always fun.
Now, today, the middle school kids just got picked up across the street. The kids are the reason I decided to walk early. If I had waited until now, there would be buses and middle school kids and high school kids and traffic... I'd rather walk early and have the streets to myself.
Which I did. And I enjoyed it. And I will keep walking early. I'll just try to remember to leave my clothes out the night before. :)
xo
