The weather was perfect last night so instead of sitting at the computer writing, I went for a walk and I brought Mr. Philately with me. The walk was part of my current �get up and get moving� program and, like anyone who believes she is now living life a better way, I have begun to proselytize. No one can lecture smokers like a former smoker and no one can lecture couch potatoes like a former couch potato. I know Mr. Philately will not dance with me (at least not unless he�s had a beer, which helps defeat the healthy purpose in this case) so I�ve been trying to get him to walk.

Mr. Philately is perfectly willing to walk with me�as long as the weather is sunny or partly cloudy and it is between 60 and 75 degrees. Most summers days like that are easy to come by in our summers but this summer, while dry, has been a bit hotter than most, even here by Lake Michigan. The walking days, the truly pleasant days, have been a bit rare.

But yesterday was one of them. We set off, side by side. We have a usual route, heading south for a bit, then west, then north to the creek, through the park, and back home. When we walk, because the weather is prime, we run into all sorts of people: young families with a baby in the stroller and a child on a bike with training wheels, an older couple, and an occasional skateboarder. Often, we know them but not always. We�re more likely to know the people we run into on the north part of the route than the south.

I think Mr. Philately would love to hold hands as we walk. Luckily, he does not take it personally that I don�t want to. I can stroll holding hands but I can�t really walk. A real walk for me is a full body experience: legs moving and arms swinging. When I say, �Move,� I want to move all of me. I will chat�about something and nothing. Sometimes I�ll listen. Mr. Philately has always done his most important talking side-by-side, not face-to-face.

Today is another perfect weather day. We can do anything we want during the day but, after dinner, I�ll lean over to Mr. Philately and say, �Take a hike.�

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