One of my favorite things to do is walk, preferably with a four-legged friend (and ideally with a four-legged friend and my husband). I used to walk with Teddy, and Sophie, every evening. As long as it wasn't dangerously cold or icy, and everyone was feeling well, we walked. Teddy missed a few walks after his surgeries, but he was walking right up until just a few days before we lost him. He loved to go, and so did I. When I would walk with Teddy, and Sophie, I would listen to my iPod, look at the moon and stars, and walk. (Whenever I see the moon now, I think of Sophie...) If we were lucky, we would run into some of our neighborhood dog friends and their walkers, who were also our friends.
A couple of years ago, I got a new iPod because my original one wasn't holding a charge for very long. My new iPod holds a lot more songs, has a radio function and a fitness mode, and impressively survived a full wash and rinse cycle when it was buried in bedding I used when sleeping on the couch near Teddy after one of his surgeries. It took me a while to realize that the fitness mode was there, but once I found it, I typically started to run it when I stepped out the door with the dogs. I have only had this iPod a couple of years, so walking Sophie probably preceded this iPod, and it was probably months, maybe a year or more before I started using the fitness function regularly.
Anyway, I stopped carrying my iPod after Teddy died because I started walking with Art in the evenings, and we talk instead of listen to music. But after my surgery, I was encouraged by my doctor to walk increasing distances to help my recovery. My first walks were shuffling around the house. No iPod required. When I started walking outside, I could only go very short distances before it became painful, so there was no need for the iPod then, either, and Art was accompanying me, too. The last couple of weeks, however, I've been able to cover a good bit of ground on my own. Since I'm going it alone and interested in how far I'm walking now, I'm back to using my iPod. As I checked my steps and distance the other day soon after resuming use of my iPod, I noticed the second screen; the one that tracks steps for the week, the month and the total. I noticed that the total was well over a million steps. According to the steps I see on a daily basis, it's just under 2500 steps to a mile, so a million steps is at least 400 miles.
It occurred to me as I was looking at the screen and doing the math and thinking about those steps, that I shared every one of those one million steps, 400 miles, with Teddy. And then I missed him even more...
A couple of years ago, I got a new iPod because my original one wasn't holding a charge for very long. My new iPod holds a lot more songs, has a radio function and a fitness mode, and impressively survived a full wash and rinse cycle when it was buried in bedding I used when sleeping on the couch near Teddy after one of his surgeries. It took me a while to realize that the fitness mode was there, but once I found it, I typically started to run it when I stepped out the door with the dogs. I have only had this iPod a couple of years, so walking Sophie probably preceded this iPod, and it was probably months, maybe a year or more before I started using the fitness function regularly.
Anyway, I stopped carrying my iPod after Teddy died because I started walking with Art in the evenings, and we talk instead of listen to music. But after my surgery, I was encouraged by my doctor to walk increasing distances to help my recovery. My first walks were shuffling around the house. No iPod required. When I started walking outside, I could only go very short distances before it became painful, so there was no need for the iPod then, either, and Art was accompanying me, too. The last couple of weeks, however, I've been able to cover a good bit of ground on my own. Since I'm going it alone and interested in how far I'm walking now, I'm back to using my iPod. As I checked my steps and distance the other day soon after resuming use of my iPod, I noticed the second screen; the one that tracks steps for the week, the month and the total. I noticed that the total was well over a million steps. According to the steps I see on a daily basis, it's just under 2500 steps to a mile, so a million steps is at least 400 miles.
It occurred to me as I was looking at the screen and doing the math and thinking about those steps, that I shared every one of those one million steps, 400 miles, with Teddy. And then I missed him even more...
Thanks Teddy. I don't take a step without thinking of you...
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