8,500 steps by 9:00 a.m.???

Last Saturday I had 8,500 steps before 9:00 a.m. I aim for 10,000 daily and almost always get them, but 8,500 before 9:00 a.m. is not typical. How did this happen? It's a bit of a saga.

To begin, I've written in the past about my friend Trudy and our history of walking together. It took place over the seven years I lived in Billings, Montana from 2004-2011. You can click that link above if you want to know more, but the interesting thing about Trudy and me is that all we ever did together was walk. I'm trying to remember if we ever did anything else. Like did we ever go to lunch together or to a movie or shopping. We must have, right? But I really can't remember.

When I moved to Utah 15 years ago, we stopped walking. Well, we didn't actually stop walking; we stopped walking together. Obviously. Through the years, I think Trudy had a few different walking partners. My friend Emily walked with me a couple days a week, but other than that, I was pretty much on my own (thank goodness for audiobooks!) until 2020, when Shulamith and I built houses in the same neighborhood. Now she is my walking partner, and I am so grateful!

It's been rough six months for Trudy. Mortality sucks sometimes, and this has been a particularly sucky time for her. She lost her beloved husband/best friend/soulmate in September, and on the heels of that, broke two of her toes. Just as they were nearly healed, she had another medical condition arise that required surgery! When that happened, she wanted to call me, but the only way she could think to do that was to call and talk to me while she walked around her living room. (This represents the extent to which she connects me and our relationship to walking, haha!) So that's exactly what she did.

As we hung up from that conversation, it occurred to me that we could have been doing this all along, all 15 years since I left Montana. The technology is there! We could still go for walks and talk to each other; we'd just need to use our phones. When I suggested that option to Trudy, she was all in. So Saturday morning at 8:00, I bundled up in my warms, put my AirPods in my ears, set my watch to record my walk, and called Trudy. And just like that it was nearly 9:00 and I had 8,500 steps! That's how it always was with our walks. The time speeds by, without ever much pause in the conversation.

We plan to do this every Saturday morning, moving forward. My only regret is that it took me 15 years to come up with the idea.

Swen-isms: Part X

Imagine that. The 10th year of Swen's words of humor, intelligence, and incredible wisdom. His thoughts have matured through the years, but he still entertains all of us with his genuine, unique voice.

348. I drive Swen to school two days a week, when our schedules align. It's only a 7-minute drive but adds exponential joy to my day, as he always has something substantive to talk about. Yesterday, it was this:

Me: Your mom showed me the video of you riding your bike down that steep hill. Impressive!

Swen: No, not impressive at all.

Me: I wouldn't do it. No way.

Swen: Yes you would. It wasn't hard.

Me: I wouldn't. 

Swen: What would it take for you to ride down that hill?

Me: Eeeeek, I don't know. A lot.

Swen: You'd do it if Harris could be President. 

Me: You win. Yep, I'd do it for that.

349. I substituted at Swen's school Monday. I was scheduled for a Spanish class, but when I arrived, the secretary informed me that I'd only have two periods of Spanish and I would need to sub in an art class the three other periods. Swen doesn't take Spanish, but I knew he had an art class, so I quickly checked the roll sheets, and sure enough, one of my art periods was his class. I texted Shulamith to tell her and to see if I should warn Swen. She thought I should. Here is my text thread with Swen:

Me: Hey, I'm subbing in your art class today. Do you want me to say hi or pretend I don't know you.

Swen: You don't know me!

Me: Done!