Finding extra time in our lives these days is difficult on a good day. What with John’s job, my work (and the extra stress of the upcoming show and Christmas season), Katherine, three dogs, two tanks full of fish and a half an acre of weeds, not to mention family and household stuff, time is somewhat at a premium.

For either of us to exercise requires that the other be home because a)we can’t afford to pay someone else to come over while we walk and b) generally the only times available are first thing in the morning and last thing at night and you try arranging for a sitter to show up at 6am on Monday for under $10 an hour.

Sure, I could push Katherine in a stroller while hanging on to a dog with each wrist. If you want to truly increase my stress levels, put me on roller skates. Frankly, for me, wrestling Katherine into a stroller (she’s three and a half, remember? They like to walk everywhere at that age.) and arguing with her the whole way completely nullifies the feeling of release that a good, fast walk gives.

Not to mention that it is impossible to have a free and complete thought in the presence of a child. They always interrupt with more mundane matters, usually to do with bodily fluids (“Mommy, what is called this thing from my nose?”) or meteorological events (“Is it sunny outside? Is the sun shining? The sun is shining. Look, the sun! It’s up in the sky. Is it sunny? It’s not cloudy, is it….. “) And yes, those are quotes from the spawn.

So somewhere in-between supper and sleep I’m trying to get out and walk/run, probably at the expense of sleep, but what the hell, you’re only young once. I have a route of about 6km that is mostly on quiet roads and with my trusty and eager companion, Moss the amazing canine, can lace up for a good hour’s walk/run. Moss is a helpful companion because he is super alert and an excellent alarm on dark roads. He is also loud and large and looks a little like a husky (despite being all border collie – it’s the white face, ridiculous tail and blue eye), so people tend to cross the street when they see us coming.

My resolution is to do this route five times a week. I also have a day-time route that is more of a challenge for when I feel like trails and hills, as it follows the Father Troy Path from Marine Drive right around to the Torbay wharf. It’s about 4km return, but there are plenty of ups and downs to compensate.

Thanks, Heather, for the link to the Google pedometer. I would have commented on your post about your bike ride, but comments aren’t up yet at your site. Any plans for their return?