I am walking gratitude
Maintaining my mobility with MS
The streets look like an ad. “Come See the Midwestern Autumn Color Show!” Translucent yellow above me. Fiery red up and to the right. Chicago Bears orange straight ahead. Crispy brown bits at my feet. I’m walking through a Crayola box of color. The tang of smoke in my nose. Someone has a campfire burning. I can’t help but smile. We’ve sold our house. This is my last midwestern fall.
I round a corner following an unfamiliar sidewalk. A car pauses at a crosswalk and I wave them to go ahead and turn. The sunset is about twenty minutes away and it feels like we’re dropping a degree every few minutes. Even with three layers on, it’s crisp teetering on cold. I zip my sweatshirt up to my chin. I don’t like the way it rubs my neck, but I’ll take this discomfort over being cold. I pull my hands inside my cuffs. I check my watch and see that I’ve walked over a mile. This is a new route for me. I don’t know the distances like our old neighborhood.
The sidewalk dips and turns following the curve of the ravine. I look down, over the stone wall, and see the hint of water flowing at the bottom. It’s making its way to Lake Michigan between the rocks and maples and wildflowers.
A red fire hydrant disrupts the fall colors with it presence. A tree branch swoops over the sidewalk and floating gourds catch my eye. I stop. A cascading macrame of cucurbits. If I was driving, I wouldn’t notice it, but here it is and here I am and I love that someone hung this for the neighborhood to enjoy.
I have always loved walking, not just for the exercise, but for the chance to be hyperaware of my surroundings. A year and a half after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, I walk as much as I can and I’m so grateful to do so. For me, this disease is a balance between fatigue, nutrition, and stress management. I want to keep walking. I want to keep being surprised and delighted by gourds and little lending libraries and stone rabbits on my gym shoe adventures. So, if you’re the people creating these surprises, keep ‘em coming. Your efforts are appreciated.
#gratitude #multiplesclerosis #mindfulness #walking #autumn
@meganstockton.writes
