Wednesday's Walker- Janine

Girl's weekend in NYC. mmm, yummy. :)

This is from my good friend, Janine, who dared to move out-of-state. She apparently now lives on a green belt which makes for nice walking, I always picture their family walking along a busy walk-way visiting with neighbors while their boys zoom up and down on bikes and skateboards. Fun stuff.

What do you do? What keeps you busy? What is your passion? I'm a mom of 2 boys (12 and 8) and I work 2, flexible part-time jobs so that I can fit my hours into the school day. I guess you could say that my kids are my passion. I also am involved in a few volunteer commitments, one of which I'm starting to regret right about now. (: So, between work, homework, after school activities, laundry, cooking... I haven't found a lot of time to walk. Exercise is the first thing to go for me. Looking at my hands as I type I realize that I haven't even found time to file my nails!

I walk because … It makes me feel good physically - I have more energy. But more immediately, it clears my head, makes me feel peaceful, gets me outside and forces me to realize that there is still a world out there that is accessible to me outside of my nutty schedule, lets me indulge my own thoughts for a while.

What do you do when you walk?  I try to walk at a pace that pushes my muscles. A walk feels successful to me if they are twitching a little at the end. I focus on taking in my surroundings. Listening for birds, watching the ducks in the canal, checking out the passersby. Then, if a thought creeps in after my head has cleared that I want to roll around in my brain for a while, I enjoy the uninterrupted ability to follow it from beginning to end.

What do you like about walking? The only thing I would add to what I wrote above is that it is usually my only chance for solitude - to re-juice.

Describe a walk where you found something special or something that made you happy or something surprising ? Hmmm, dunnoh.

What is your favorite walk?  I most frequently walk on the race (a path beside an old canal in our town). It is by our house (convenient) and runs along the woods, a park, empties into a lake at one end and the farmer's market at the other. It's pleasant and easy. I also like the woods in a protected area 10 or so minutes away that has paths that take you around fields and along streams. There are tons of birds and I find I enjoy discovering them in my older age. (:

Any tips to get people walking?  Just start. It's hard to just get started, but once you do you will be quickly rewarded with how you feel physically and emotionally.