The best things about Sundays are the total lack of expectations. It comes with a sense of personal freedom and the license to do whatever you feel like doing. This Sunday morning calls for partly cloudy skies, a chance of rain, and temperatures near 40 degrees. Perfect weather for a long brisk walk to get the blood pumping, muscles moving, and the brain thinking about something other than the ever-present To-do list.

Working from home eliminated my hour-long daily commute and created space in my schedule to get outside and stretch my legs. I didn’t realize how much I missed walking. In high school, I didn’t have a car. So if I wanted to go somewhere, I walked or rode my bike. They designed college campuses for walking, which saved me from the dreaded Freshman fifteen. My first job after graduation required a mile walk between the train station and the office. It didn’t matter if it snowed with sub-zero temps or you sweltered in unbearable heat with no relief from a cooling lake breeze. Classes, jobs, and responsibilities don’t care if you need an umbrella, a change of shoes in your briefcase, or hats, scarves, and mittens.

Somewhere along the way, getting outside became optional and demanded perfect conditions. I fell out of the daily routine and out of practice. There was a time when I could cover a mile in about fifteen minutes, which works out to about 4 miles per hour. But since I restarted this spring, my mile pace is taking almost twenty minutes, or a 3 MPH pace. This will never do. I have a new goal. I can always count on my competitive personality to turn a relaxing walk into another opportunity to measure, record, and monitor my progress.

How do you spend your Sundays?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer