I was about six in this picture, but I remember my run with mom pretty well. After wrapping up this classic runner's stretch we walked through our garage and onto the sidewalk good to go.
Because our house in Minnesota was at the bottom of a hill it didn't matter what direction we turned, we would start uphill. But, we were ready. We had on sweats, my hair was in a bandana and we were wearing shoes with laces.
We turned left and jogged up the street. Mom let me lead, the route was in my hands. Moving up the block we waved to select neighbors, politely ignoring others (a form of Minnesota Nice). Even as a kid I noticed which yards had dandelions, which homes were mostly vacant and who was washing his or her car, again.
I knew where the hill crested and which sidewalk squares had cracks or bumps. I knew where it'd smell like lilacs and where your shoes would trample premature crabapples.
I was out for a run in my neighborhood with my mom--life was good.
ON TOPIC:
Check out Laurie Kocanda's and GOTRIbal contributor Kara Thom's book Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom! And her posts here including "Fit Mom Mentor."
And read Run Like a Mother: How to Get Moving, and Not Lose Your Family, Job or Sanity, by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea.
Questions for You:
- As a kid did you call your running shoes: tennis shoes, sneakers, running shoes or something else?
- What was your neighborhood like?
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