First of the Year

Tonight, Sam and I went on our first official Walk Around the Block of the year. In truth, it was really a half of a Walk Around the Block. The lingering afternoon sunlight looked deceptively warm from the dining room table, so I asked Sam if he wanted to squeeze in a quick walk. He was all for it. We've been talking about looking forward to this for weeks.

So, we got on our jackets, but when we got outside, we found that the wind, which is not something you can see from the dining room table, was blowing gently, but steadily, and much colder than either of us expected. Half way around the block, with the wind still steadily at our faces, I asked Sam if we should turn around and head back home - or continue on. He wanted to continue on.

I told him the wind would be better when we rounded the corner, figuring that it wouldn't be blowing directly in our faces. I was wrong. And I was wrong on the next corner, too. No matter which direction we headed in, the wind was blowing in our faces.

This was like one of those magical grilling types of wind - where no matter where you stand, the smoke gets blown in your face. All that was missing was the smoke and the warmth and the burning sensation in the eyes. Other than that, it was exactly like it.

We got about half way around the block and I said to Sam, "Follow me" - and I proceeded to cut through the edge of someone's yard, to where it met a street parallel to ours.  "Good idea" said Sam, and he followed along behind me.

We turned at the end of the street and headed back towards our road and I noticed that one of Sam's shoes was untied. When I pointed it out to Sam, he said, "That's Ok. I'll get it when we get home." That's how you know when Sam's either cold, tired, in a hurry - or some combination of all three. He doesn't stop to do something that he habitually does.

But we made it home just fine and, despite the wind, it was nice to get outside. We've both been cooped up this week - in different places, for different reasons. And it was especially nice to get outside, together.