Routines

Every morning when Sammy and I step out onto the front porch to begin our walk it's just a little bit darker than the morning before. I'm always sad to see summer end but I also love the cool mornings and evenings that bring the first hints of fall.

We usually take the same route on our walks. I've measured out a two mile trek so when we want to go farther I just add a few blocks here or there. Keeping the same route helps me adjust our pace and keep track of the miles we've covered together.

I'm kind of a creature of habit. As we are discovering, so are most of the people on our morning route.

Most houses are the same every day. At one house we always hear a baby crying. Next door to them is a mom who's trying to roust her kids out of bed to get ready for school. Nearly every morning we almost get run over by the same woman backing out of her driveway. (I've learned to watch for her. Apparently she hasn't adjusted to us intersecting her path just yet.) There are four or five houses where the canine inhabitants bark some kind of warning/greeting to Sammy every day.

Because it's still dark I can see someone in their living room exercising to a video shot on some tropical beach somewhere. Whoever it is, they aren't very habitual with their exercise. I only see them about once a week.

Every morning on the other side of South Main Street I see a man in a suit and tie walking a beautiful black dog. The dog has a gorgeous fan tail, kind of like a Golden Retriever, but he's pure black. The dog is thrilled to be out and sniffing the world at 6:15. The man in the suit always looks grumpy.

Number 62 on my 101 in 1001 List is "Say hello and smile at everyone I pass on the sidewalk when I take Sammy for a walk." I've really been concentrating on that one. I'm flabbergasted at the results.

The first day I saw Mr. Grumpy Suit he looked at Sammy and I across the four lanes of road and looked even grumpier. His dog wanted to come see Sammy. I smiled and we kept walking. The next day he didn't look at us at all. The following day he looked over, so I said a loud good morning with a smile. He kept walking. We continued this way for a week - him and his dog looking, Sammy and I smiling. (Yes, Sammy smiles with his tail!)

Today, Mr. Grumpy Suit smiled and spoke first!

It's happening the same way with the three different groups of teenagers waiting for the school bus at different places on our route! The first few days they were sullen, wouldn't look and certainly wouldn't smile. I was persistent with smiling and saying good morning. Now they look for Sammy so they can smile and pet him!

Is this going to change the world? Probably not. But it changes me. And obviously it has changed at least a few people with whom my life is intersecting right now. I think we underestimate the value of kindness. It's free. It's easy to begin. And best of all, we can consciously choose it at any given moment of our lives.

It's part of my new routine.