Walk

Had my walking dream again, the one where I take huge strides like I’m walking on air. Impossible in my previous reality and even harder now. I still drag my foot a little, not so you can see it but it shows up in the tip of my right shoe. Of course I’m very lucky to be able to walk at all, thinking about that the other day as my friend Cathy and I went for a stroll. When I first was able to walk around the hospital, I had to learn to look around me and not just at my feet. It was so tough to learn how to walk again after my stroke. I learned to tune everything out and just concentrate on getting my feet to move in a certain way, direction I think its called. Then there the whole hip roll thing, coordinating the legs to move and the muscles to feel the step and then to get the other foot into place, all while trying to keep your balance, and oh yeah, you’ve got to watch out for cars as well.

We were walking in a nature preserve so watching out for cars wasn’t necessary, watching out for birds and flowers was. The “trail” was a well defined concrete sidewalk that was handicapped accessible so everybody could enjoy going for a walk in nature. At one point I was looking up in the trees instead of watching my feet, marveling at how good it felt. I know for those of you who live in the north woods somewhere, you scoff at the idea of a concrete sidewalk as natural, and I agree. But I loved being out in the fresh air, watching birds, and the flowers just waiting to be found. It’s a lovely time of year, all the trees a wearing a new coat of bright green leaves and there are wildflower’s of all different color and hue, Indian Paintbrush, Bluebonnets, Evening Primrose, and Yucca too, all in reds and blue and white and yellow, just glorious colors. Acres and acre of colorful flowers good for bees and butterflies and all manner of other creatures, both winged and footed. My friend thought she spotted a fox out for a midday stroll too, but it was just a shade too quick in spotting us and returned to the bushes where it could hide.

It got warm very quickly, temperatures are in the eighties, but the sun is getting much closer this time of year. In another few months time the land and any flowers will be baked within an inch of it life. So too will we, but for now we are enjoying Mother Natures gift to us all for making it through the tough winter of our lives.