The Next Caitlan Clark
Walking My Way Home One Step at a Time
Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 53 secondsSome mornings, I question why I wake up at 5:30 for an early walk. Today was one of those days. As I stirred from sleep, I noticed a text message from a very close friend who was experiencing a widow’s nightmare. I swiftly responded to the message but hesitated to call, unsure if she would be awake. Opting instead to clear my head, I laced up my walking shoes and embarked on my morning stroll, maintaining a leisurely pace of under 18 minutes per mile. Throughout the eight-mile journey, I conversed with friends and caught sight of a promising young athlete who reminded me of the next Caitlin Clark.
The June Apple Watch exercise challenge for me is to burn 851 calories a day. Although the goal seems achievable, the algorithm complicates matters. In a few days, I burn 100 calories a mile, while on other days, I only burn 70 or 80 calories. As I hit the first-mile mark this morning, I was 102 calories and completed the distance in 17 minutes and twenty-six seconds. Perhaps I was walking faster and getting better results because I was anxious about my friend. As soon as I walked into my home, I called her.
While walking this morning, I encountered a young mother playfully pretending to block basketball shots from a kindergarten-aged boy. Without thinking much, I commented, “He looks like the next Caitlin Clark. I’m sure the Knicks could have used his help.” As I walked a few more steps, I told the mother, “I’m not sure if he knows who Caitlan Clark is.” The mom responded, “I do, and I appreciate what you said.
My walks have not only helped me feel better and lose weight but have also helped me survive grief. Today, on my perambulations, I was reminded of a powerful quote from Khaled Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed: “We are just wandering, circling around each other, we are all, in the end, just walking each other home.” Imagine a world where we walk each other home and treat everyone as family. If we did that, as Ben Jealous writes in Never Forget Our People Were Always Free, we would all be cousins. We must walk our neighbors home and treat them as family because, in the end, we are all cousins.
Love is a Magical Force!
Walking My Way Home One Step at a Time
Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 53 seconds
Walking and Reading Daily!
Walking My Way Home One Step at a Time
Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 53 seconds
I follow a set of routines. Since my wife passed away, two habits that have been particularly important for me are walking and reading. They have become an essential part of my daily life and have helped me maintain a sense of balance and structure amidst the chaos of everyday life.
