Photo 101, day 5
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Solitude: love walking in it!
walk
Encounters During My Daily Walks! #2
A beautiful day! Indeed. Sir Thomas and I were on our familiar path, enjoying the nice cold and sunny weather. At a distance Sir Thomas smelled a friend. We sped up our stride and Miller was waiting. Tails were wagging right and left. Happy to meet, undoubtedly!
Us moms, Miller’s and I, were equally happy to see each other. The good weather had made many come out for a stroll. We caught up a bit. Laughed a lot. And, said our byes.
Forty minutes into the walk, I saw dark clouds quickly moving in. A few at first. Then the sun was covered. The breeze felt colder now. Time to get home, I thought.
As I was making my way into the last stretch of our walk, I saw a woman with a little puppy…waiting for our approach. I felt like not stopping, but Sir Thomas had to say hello to his kind. The woman did not say hello, but started with, “Do you live around here?” Before I could answer, she threw another question at me, “Do you work?” Again, before I could answer, she asked, “When did you move here?” I managed to say 11-years ago. She then expressed that she moved here two years ago, and paid a lot for her home, but I must not have paid much for my property back then. She added how much she dislikes living in this part of the town. I started to not like this talk at all; this was in no way a two-way conversation. And this stranger was certainly very strange!
She was not done with me. But I was! I was ready to flee. Sir Thomas was done with the hello part and was now busy sniffing. I pulled the leash, his paws tightly fixed to the ground. This gave the lady a chance to throw another question, “Do you have kids?” Pissed off, I said, “No.” Pulled on Sir Thomas again, his paws came lose and I quickly said good-bye and moved in the other direction from her. This interrogation was OVER!
As I made my way home, I kept thinking why did I have this encounter. Why did I allow this encounter? Why did I even answer to her idiotic questions? Why? Why? Right in the beginning, I should have said, “None of your business, lady,” and moved on. This lady was very nosy right from the get go.
I wanted a positive out of this encounter. I knew I could do it, too. I thought, “I am an UNSTOPPABLE OPTIMIST!” “I’m going to find the good in this encounter.” The good I found was that – If I meet this stranger again, I’ll control the encounter – I will not stop for the talk! (Rain started to come down. Thankfully, we got home right then.)
My first encounter was a heartwarming encounter. Second was strange! Weird! An encounter, nonetheless. Sir Thomas seemed happy and satisfied after his walk. I felt tired. That second encounter drained me. But, guess who went to sleep after our walk? 🙂
…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time:)
I’ll go for a walk… with who?
When I crossed our main street to get to the sidewalk, Thomas, my beagle, pulled me to the left, a path we rarely take, as I, automatically, turned to the right, a path we usually take. I decided to follow his lead. He seemed happy. His tail wagging, he took his time walking.
Nice cool breeze on a warm wintry day kept embracing us. And, the mostly cloudy day felt more like spring, not winter. I felt my mind happily hopping. I heard a complex symphony of sounds in the background – The chirping of the birds flying over us; the humming of the cars whizzing by us; the soft bark of a dog coming from nearby distance; the rustling of leaves on trees around us.
As Thomas and I sauntered, I couldn’t help but chuckle remembering an encounter with an acquaintance – I had asked her about why she preferred walking alone. She had blatantly answered, “Sweetie, because I can fart freely!”
I, too, realize walking by myself is immensely satisfying! An accurate definition of myself would be – me and my dog! These walks are exclusive – My conversations with myself remain private; my quiet times remain absolutely and phenomenally soothing; my silly but unavoidable burps, spits, and farts become one with the nature :). Thomas and I walk completely immersed in our own worlds. I walk leisurely at my own pace. Actually, leisurely at Thomas’ pace :). But, both walking, joyfully.
…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time 🙂
Encounters During My Daily Walks!
I encountered someone’s emotions today:
Today, a mom shared with me that her tall-handsome-20-year-old son revealed 2-days ago that he’s a gay. I’m glad she thought she could share her thoughts and emotions with me. We have never shared anything personal in the past.
…will keep sharing my thoughts and encounters from my walks with Sir Thomas.
…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time 🙂
If You Leave…
It’s been cloudy and raining, intermittently, all day since yesterday. Still, a nice fall day. Today, however, it’s chilly, due to cold gusty wind. I’m all ready for my walk, dressed in layers, for this day. But my walking companion, Sir Thomas, still in the same spot since 7:30 AM. It’s 11:15 AM, now. He looks like a hot-dog stuffed in a bun on our couch.
“Let’s get you ready boy, and go for our walk,” I say to him. He gives me a stare, which, I can hear loud and clear, “I am not going anywhere, today; you carry on alone, without me…I’ll try losing my extra pounds later.” “I’m not giving up!” determined, I said. Enough bugging from me finally gets him off the couch. Without wasting time, within seconds, I get him ready. We head out the garage door, and I turn left to walk out of our neighborhood. Suddenly I’m pulled! In the opposite direction!
“Let me…” Sir Thomas seem to say to me, pulling me to a spot in the middle of our front yard, “Pee!” Relieved, he looks around, and sets his stride back toward the garage door, to go inside. “No! We haven’t even started our walk!” I scream.
It’s ever-so-slightly sprinkling, and the wind has picked up…it’s gusty, for sure. He really wants to skip this walk! I pull him away from our house to get out of the neighborhood. He pulls me toward the house. I pull him away. He pulls me toward…I pull him away…he gives in…he has no choice. Sweet thing. I love him.
Off we go, outside our neighborhood. We hurriedly cross a street to get to our walking path. Those darn trees! Sir Thomas takes forever to move from there. He sniffs every angle of this one particular tree trunk. Then, of course, marks a spot on it.
We make a move again. He’d rather be snuggled, today, comfortably on the couch. He’s walking, today, because of me. He loves me!
Despite the weather today, we are enjoying the nature. We hear the birds chirp, the leaves rustle, the wind whistle, whisper and swoosh. We see no one else out here, today. But, we see hundreds of leaves here today, flying and falling to the ground.
As we head back home from our walk, Sir Thomas’ pace gets faster. I smile at his eagerness to get home. Once inside the house, I notice his tail go up, completely.
“Glad that’s over!” Sir Thomas tells me; actually, his eyes tell me that! He hits the couch; yawns, stretches and gets ready to snooze. “Life, you are too good! If you leave, I’m following you.”
Just so you know Sir Thomas, I had a wonderful time today. Those moments are now in the past. Those beautiful moments are behind us! This weather – if you leave me – I know you’ll be back again. This gusty wind and this chill – if you leave me – I know you’ll be back soon. Time – if you leave me – you are not coming back. Life – if you leave me – you are not returning. And, that’s the reason I take the time to enjoy my life with you, Sir Thomas:) Our walks are always interesting. We won’t let our walks leave us! We will walk tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and everyday after that!
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “If You Leave.”
…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time 🙂
Healthier and Happier – Working to be Fit Everyday!
My one page note! My little helper:)
Small consistent changes to eating healthier and living an active lifestyle is what I did to get the results that I wanted. And, I am still doing it. I’ve been doing this for almost 15 years now. I still motivate myself and do lots of self talk. It has led me to live a healthier and happier life for me, my family and my friends.
People ask me if I can help them. But I don’t have any certification. I do, however, know how I did it! My little note certainly helped. I would love to help others, I’m thinking of getting certification in Personal Training so that I can help others. In the meantime, I still wanted to share my little photo-note in this post:)
I am regularly reading and learning from different websites. I educate myself and filter information to fit my body and my given genes. I fight and beat a few bad genes on a daily basis; but the rest I accept, and continue to move forward. I, recently, read a good article on fighting bad genes titled, “6 Ways to Beat Your Bad Genes.” You can read it on, http://www.prevention.com/fitness/fitness-tips/how-your-genes-impact-your-physical-fitness
Can’t emphasize enough – Being consistent and patient is what worked for me! Small consistent changes to eating healthier and living an active lifestyle is what I did to get the results that I wanted. And, I will continue doing it!
…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time:)
The Unstoppable Optimist! 