The hardest thing to get used to is the isolation. I have taken to walking everywhere I can. Yesterday, I got in 22,333 steps. I am getting close to that today. I do have to get in some walks at 3, 4, and 5p. I got a FitBit that keeps me pushing. I also joined with others to do challenges. I won the challenge yesterday despite straining my calf muscle and being bothered with an old injury to my left foot from when an alpaca kicked me.

On my birthday, I got in 22,949 steps. Most of that came about from my challenge to recreate the walk I did as a child from St Patrick’s, now Good Shephard Church. When I was a child I was going to St. Patrick’s and had to stay for First Communion classes. I would have to wait at the convent until my Father came to pick me up. One day, I chose to wait at the corner. The Mother Superior kept sending kids out to tell me to get back to the convent. I decided I had enough and decided to walk the over three miles to my grandparents house. They had the cops out looking for me, but I had no problem walking downtown and finding my way to my grandparents. I got in a bit of trouble for that and needless to say, I did not return to St. Patrick’s the next year. I walked all the way out there and back. Unfortunately, I forgot my mask so I could not make any stops along the way. On the way back, I opted to retrace my steps and went to what used to be my grandparents on the corner of Oak and Bank. I touched the hedge and then walked back up the Highlands to my apartment.

I am alone now and except for seeing the neighbors outside and giving their dogs treats, I am isolated. Given I am 62 and supposedly in that danger age, I suppose it is for the best. I am a social person though, so it eats at me. I have had get togethers with my daughter and her friend Emily. We even met up and went to St. James Pub with Cate. Those events are few and far between. Most of my socialization is going to the market or the occasional chat with people I meet on my walks. So I walk.

Probably the most beneficial thing about the walking is being able to get out of my head. I listen to things around me. I hear the birds, the rustle of the leaves. I try to stay connected to everything around me. Part of my walk takes me past Little Theater. It is closed for now, but my Uncle used to be with them.

I miss entertaining people. I have no idea what Thanksgiving or Christmas will look like this year. I miss being able to have people over. I hate the isolation. So I get out and walk. I am 119 miles away from hitting 500 lifetime miles. Imagine that, walking 500 miles since I got the FitBit earlier this year. That is my life now, walking.

My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

Emma Croft