The Annie Walter Plan for a Happy Quarantine - Step One

There are only a few elements.  Staying home to stay safe makes your world small, but it can be deep.  Maybe dense is a better word.

Take a long walk every single day. Spring has not been cancelled.  It is beautiful outside, with trees and flowers coming into bloom, changing every day.  Although we could certainly use some rain and there is some in the forecast, the gentle weather and blue sky has made my walking most enjoyable. 

I live in an older working class neighborhood between 2 very lovely sections of town.  I only have to walk a couple of blocks east or west to be in either a historic neighborhood or one with beautiful homes set on big well-landscaped lots.  The houses there tend to look like French chateaux, or English cottages or Southern Gothic style - with pillars of course. 

I didn't actually get this far.  I am not a total scofflaw. 

The loop that I walk - ok it's really a trapezoid - includes neighborhoods, parks, greenways, a couple of streets that used to be busy.  There are a lots of variations - Yesterday I walked up to the Grove Park Inn, now closed. I never walked there before - seemed too far.  In fact i was thinking, 'one of these days I should walk up there.'  And with that, I turned where the sign tells the cars to turn.  It was a lovely walk, a gentle up slope going, so a relaxed downhill walk home. 

I really think that my daily walk is the most important thing that I'm doing for myself.  The exercise value is significant, but just getting outside is really more important.  I don't walk a dog. I do not have earbuds connecting me to cyberspace.  I take a few pictures and post them to Instagram - mostly pretty flowers.  For the first 2 weeks the Botanical Gardens was open, but there were just too many people, so although I miss it, closing it was the right thing to do.

I'll be back, because there are other things keeping me safe and sane.