A Winter's Walk

As a one car couple many days of the week I have two options after work: walk/run to the law school or wait an hour for Andrew to pick me up after his last class. A couple of days a week I run the 3.5 miles adding on a few extra as time allows. Fridays however, are a walking day.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I really don't like walking. I don't feel it has a purpose. It's slow. It takes me all of the hour to walk the 3.5 miles when I could run up to six and still be waiting at the car for Andrew to get out of class. Getting a dog has helped my attitude towards walking because when walking with Stella I have a purpose.

Yesterday Andrew took his second of four finals and it was necessary for me to walk to the law school in order to pick up the car and drive home. The walk from my school to the law school is pleasant, especially on a brisk winter day. The weather this week was cold--not quite New York cold but chilly enough to cause your nose hairs to freeze. As I left work, I bundled up in my enormous blueberry down jacket, pulled a hat over my ears, replaced my heels with sneakers and began my trek.

To say Morgantown is hilly is an understatement. The law school happens to be at the top of the biggest hill in the city. Most of the walk between my daily destinations is a gradual rise that flattens out before a steep 3/4 mile climb straight up to Andrew's second home.

My walk yesterday gave me time to reflect on all of the changes Andrew and I have gone through over the past few months. In the quiet of the winter afternoon I felt at peace for the first time with our new life. I'm enjoying my job, have someone to run with occasionally, and am nearly finished school. Had I run the distance not only would I have missed the time to be thankful, but I would have sped by the peppermint Gelato on High Street.