We live about a mile from Ella's preschool. The walk is lovely, all residential, no busy roads. There are some serious hills but I grew up at the foot of the Smoky Mountains and tend not to be too put-off by a hill (or three). Ella LOVES to walk to school. Unfortunately, my work schedule is such that I only have one day a week to walk her to school. That day is Thursday and now that the winter is over, I think we'll probably walk each Thursday.
Today we walked to school with our neighbor E whose son M is in Ella's class and who also has a baby girl, just a few months younger than Dash. E showed up on my porch to walk to school this morning and I had to laugh at out loud at how much we looked like twins. Black capri running pants? Check. Gray t-shirts? Check. One baby strapped on the back? Check. One preschooler in a stroller? Check. Stroller a bright orange BOB? Check. It was either really funny (all those coincidences!) or really depressing (I apparently have nothing unique about me anymore now that I am a mom).
On the first half of the walk, E and I had a lovely chat about parenting and our careers (she is a professor at Duke) and the craziness of trying to balance both of those worlds. As we got closer and closer to school, our little gang picked up more and more families. I think everyone within walking distance of the school did in fact walk today. Did I mention that the weather was glorious today? Warm but not hot, birds were chirping, all under a beautiful blue sky. At one point, Ella and her buddy M got out of their strollers and skipped down the sidewalk holding hands. It was a wonderful feeling to walk down the street surrounded by moms, dads, preschoolers, little siblings, even a dog or two. This was a small moment but one that really spoke to me. It was a moment where my brain slowed down from its endless list-making and looking ahead to the next task. It was a moment to feel happy, calm, and grateful for my life.
