Walking in the Dark

Whether its commitment to yourself, another person, or a goal... sometimes commitment means doing something out of the ordinary. Sometimes it means doing something you'd really rather not do - or make excuses to get out of doing. Sometimes it means being flexible. Sometimes it means doing something others might argue against - because you know it will be good for you and it will be okay. Sometimes its leads to unexpected pleasures...


As was the case with my most recent walk - which added a mere 1.92 miles to our running total.


The scenario of the day allotted me time to get to the gym around 7:30pm - after dinner & Young Sir went to bed. The whole day went extremely well. Things went a little askew when I got wrapped up in taking some pics for a future blog post. Dinner for Mr. Husband & I wasn't wrapped up until almost 8:00pm. The gym is open until 10:00 so I could have gone... but I made the excuse (and yes it was an excuse) that I didn't want to do an intense workout right after eating dinner and by the time the dinner settled it wouldn't give me much time at the gym before they closed.


The fact is it was a nice night - chilly but no rain - and I felt like getting out for some fresh air. So, I told Mr. Husband that I was just going to go for a walk and went to bundle up. By about 8:15pm, I was out the door. The air was crisp & damp... and refreshing.

The night was... quiet. Calm. Serene. Peaceful. The streets in the neighborhood nearly deserted. There was solitude. No ipod. No electronics (other than RunKeeper running on my phone). Just me and the night...

Years ago I used to walk at night. I had forgotten how much I LOVE it. There is a sense of confidence & something oddly empowering about walking in the dark. There is also something on the verge of freedom - knowing that you can walk and walk unseen by most. Its an intriguing mix... 

There were things I noticed on my walk in the dark that I never would have during the day... the garage window lined with beer bottles... the Minnesota Vikings (Mr. Husband's team) grill cover in a back yard... the treadmill in the front room of a home positioned to overlook the water (can you imagine how awesome that must be to workout on? I would walk forever just to enjoy the view)... the outline of these huge oak & madrona trees in the moonlight... the rushing sound of the waves hitting the beach below the cliff... the sound of the trolling boat cutting through the water... the way the new paths they put in connect the different sections of the neighborhood (the new ones are lighter & stand out in the dark in a way they don't during daylight hours). The differences in the same walk - from daytime to nighttime - are nothing short of AMAZING.

We are fortunate to live in a community - in a neighborhood - where it is relatively safe to walk alone at night. I suppose deep in the night I would have hesitation... but still wouldn't be fearful. If anything I would fear animals more than people, lol. I know you aren't all so fortunate... but if you ever get the chance to walk in the dark somewhere that you feel safe... DO IT! 

~ Ms. M