To follow-up from my post this morning regarding the walking group fears/anxieties...
I leave my house at 8:13 a.m., giving me 9 minutes to get to the meeting spot (for a 4 minute walk). I arrive at the address and see no one around, so I sit at the empty bench thinking how this must be the right place since there’s a bench. At 8:21 a.m. (one minute before the start of the walk) I text the realtor lady to double check I’m in the right place since I see no one else. She responds asking if I’m in the back parking lot? Um, no, you never told me that’s where to meet the group, so of course that’s not where I am. I get up and start walking around the block to find the parking lot. She then texts and says that she isn’t going to make it this morning and she meant to text me. WHAT.
I get to the parking lot and see no one around and I instantly feel like sobbing and running away simultaneously. I’m texting with the realtor letting her know I don’t see anyone back here but it’s fine! It was a good opportunity to get up and out the door and I’ll go exploring on my own - already deciding that I want nothing to do with this group and I need to bolt immediately. The next text is her telling me that someone is coming to find me. NOoooo! I can’t leave now! I wait around and a woman comes out of the building asking if I’m here for the walking group and then we proceed to walk FAST to catch up with everyone else.
Turns out, the group that showed up today was five women all in their mid-late 70s! Ha! And they are MOVING. Definitely not a meandering pace here, but going every which way, up and over the curbs, in the middle of the streets, turning on a dime to try a different direction, going up and down trails and all over the place. Soooo glad I didn’t bring erp with me. Since there were five of them plus me we pretty much paired up into groups of two and walked, socially distanced. When I arrived in my mask the lady who found me asked if I was vaccinated, which hooray! I am!, and that the entire group is too, so no masks are required with the group so that was nice to know they took it seriously and were being careful. She said they never do the same route twice and that they go wherever their interests take them. Fun! But also, soooo not me who never once deviated from the path I plotted out back in my old neighborhood.
While it was an awkward beginning, and a super fast paced roughly 2 mile walk (I started my tracker late), I’m ultimately glad I didn’t run away like I wanted to. This was good for me. And while I 100% prefer to walk on my own so I can stop and take all the pictures, listen to my books and escape in my head, this is a good option and something I need to figure out if I want to commit to, especially since I don’t think it’s a good idea to bring erp. Although, I’m sure they would accommodate me if I did.
Before I left, I woke Kevin up to take over erp duty while I was gone and when I came back an hour later I found him sleeping on the couch with the house destroyed. I explained to him that I can’t go on these walks if this is what happens and he said that he wants me to keep going and he’ll make it work, he’ll not fall asleep again and will make sure this is something I can keep up with. I appreciated his insistence and commitment to be a more alert parent next time, but also - I’m only going to get more pregnant and slower! I’ll give it another go and see how it is once I get more practice in. I need to remind myself that I really haven’t done any exercise or gone on a walk in a few months so of course this winded me.
A few hours later we head out to the farmer’s market! Ever since moving to VA we’ve attempted several farmer’s markets and they’ve all sucked big time - being mostly craft based with not much produce or products. Thankfully, this one was more up to speed with what we’re familiar with and we had SUCH a great time walking around as a family! I had to get erp up from a nap to make it in time before the market closed an hour later, but she was so good just looking at everything from her stroller! This was, by far, the most people she’s ever been around. We did the first loop to check out what was there then during our second loop around we made all the purchases of all the things including some cold brew that so hit the spot.
Please keep in mind that my legs were already dead from this morning’s activities. Then I wore these sandals that, while cute and chosen specifically for their ability to support my feet better than flats or flip flops, weren’t nearly as supportive as tennis shoes. Pair those two aspects with the fact that the ground wasn’t flat and had either gravel, dirt, grass or uneven cobblestone and I was a slow, careful walker who was ready to sit at any moment but didn’t for the entire hour and a half we were out.
We walked around the market twice, then decided to stroll around the area since it looked so cute. And omg, it was SO CUTE. So many little shops and restaurants. There was even a dude with a mic singing songs on the street and people sitting at tables enjoying the day. Soooo many people were out but everyone (including us) were all masked up so it felt okay. Can’t wait to come back and take the in-laws to the area when they visit in a few weeks!
Such an active, fulfilling morning!! Now please excuse me while I sit and never get up again.
