My road came to an unexpected halt on November 9, 2010.

That morning, I was bicycling to work when a garbage truck turned across a city bike lane. I was in that bike lane.

A team of trauma surgeons saved my life, but they had to amputate my left leg. My body and life were forever changed.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

As I learned to walk again, I measured my recovery in steps and then miles. Over time that journey grew into something more -- a way of being in the world, wherever I go.

I am a person of ability and disability. I travel in the space between. These are my postcards.

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Small Walk. Big View.

It's one of my best kept secrets...

Morning Miles are just a slow stroll around the block.

My closest friends know this.  So does my family.  But outside that circle, it might appear different.  Now you know too. 

A grassy corner with an iron fence and a colonial lamp post in the foreground, with a pink horizontal line of clouds in the sky above.
Small walk. Big view.
(And if I'm lucky -- coffee!)

That's how I roll.

Today a ribbon of pink arches across the OC sky.  I watch it from all angles as I circle the same sidewalk as yesterday.

A pink stream of clouds floating in the just lightening sky over a brown city building.  The silhouette of trees are in the foreground.

Sure, I dream of venturing farther.

Reaching different neighborhoods,
trying new cafés,
really getting a morning workout...

But that's not how it usually happens.  

Here's the real story:

Each morning -- body permitting -- I wake up, get ready, and get my leg on.  (Some days, this is a bigger project than others.)

Then I head out.

I don't have to go far.  There are no expectations.  Still, there's something special about traveling the same path each day, no matter how small.  

Sometimes it's the friends I meet.  
Sometimes it's the coffee. 
Sometimes it's the sky.

Before I know it, I'm back home for breakfast.  

A yellow and orange sunrise down an Old City cobblestone alley.

Fueled by the views along the way.


13 comments:

  1. Love ❤️ the views and walks… the sunrises with a splash of pink and orange 🍊 in the clouds makes it even more special. I too have a regular city walk … with coffee!

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    1. Ah, yay! Totally agree. Morning walks are the best way to start the day - and sunrises and coffee are icing on the cake :)

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  2. Coffee walks are the best! Quick or slow there are rewards at every point

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  3. love it! ❤️Sneha

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    1. Thanks Sneha! Hope your foot is healing up!! xo

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  4. Just beautiful wherever you find yourself walking 🚶‍♀️

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    1. Thank you! I totally agree - it's not about the destination at all!!

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    2. I long for morning walks again…..maybe with you and mom. The best conversations. I love peeking at your thoughts in these little post cards. ❤️

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  5. "...Still, there's something special about traveling the same path each day..." - yes, so true, there are some scenes I could look at all day and never tire of. Morning from my deck is one of them. The early sun illuminates the trees in a different way each morning despite nothing ever actually "changing". This is a nice moment for me that I get to have most every day.

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    1. Totally agree. I get so much out of those early morning moments. Although I walk the same patch of sidewalk each morning, there are variations in the light, people, weather, nature. Each walk is different - even day to day. Thanks for sharing - and for letting me experience your early morning deck moment. :)

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