My sister-in-law had a birthday, so I called to offer greetings.
“I just want you to know that I always think how cool it is to have a birthdate like yours. March 4, 1956 – 3/4/56 – well…it’s just cool. I can’t remember much, but I can remember that date,” I said.
She thanked me, glad that her date was easy for me to remember. I went about working on my cabinets while Miggie prepared her daughter’s taxes. We had agreed that we’d go for a hike in the afternoon since the sun was shining and the trails were reasonably dry. But when the taxes were done I noticed both ladies sitting on the sofa and watching some brainless movie. I looked a Miggie and she returned my stare with sheepish guilt.
“I thought we were going for a hike? Dakota and I are headed out in any event. You couch potatoes enjoy,” I said.
It had the desired effect. Diana said, “I can go if it’s not muddy. I have my good boots on.” They were a brown suede of some kind.
“I’ll carry you over any mud, princess. I could use the extra workout,” I offered.
I assured her that we’d be taking a hike that was all paved. “We’ll do the Hale Farm and Village hike. A little mud in the parking lot across the street, but not enough water to melt anyone.”
Suspiciously, they followed. They tried to walk off-path to avoid the one puddle and then returned to the trail. Diana was inspecting her boots.
“It’s only MUD! It’ll brush off when it dries,” I said.
She didn’t look convinced. We hiked all the way to the Everett Road covered bridge, which is 2.5 miles away where I turned them around for the return trip. Diana looked puzzled.
“We have to go all the way back the way we came?”
“Nope. We could just stay here and call Uber,” I said.
Miggie thought it would be quicker if we continued on but walked in the road to avoid the mud of the trail that would take us back to our place via the towpath.
“Can’t walk in the road with Dakota and the trail would soil those nice boots Diana has on, so turn around,” I said.
I had loaded Miggie’s old bike in Diana’s SUV when she’d arrived and I reminded her that if she lived here and was willing to hike and bike, I’d have her down to 120 pounds by the end of the summer. “I told your mama the same thing, but I just can’t get her out the door. I know what to do, but I can’t do it for anyone,” I said.
We finished the hike in about two hours. Neither one of them had done so much in a very long time and both were hurting. Dakota and I did it every day and didn’t give it much thought. It’s just walking my brain tells me, but for many people it is a whole lot more. In any event, I think it opened both their eyes to what they needed to be doing more often.
Hike: Two hours
Training Heart Rate: 75 bpm.
Calories Burned: 700
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