Walking

me: I saw you walking again to work today.
him: Yeah.
me: I see you doing that a lot.
him: Yeah.
me: But I saw you walking from Thalwil. You know you can take that bus that goes from Thalwil to Adliswil.
him: Yeah.
me: (pause) Why don't you?
him: (pause) Because I like to walk.
me: (blink)

Until yesterday, I hadn't calculated the distance from my home to work. I found out it is a little over an hour. Under "normal" circumstances, this isn't unusual. If I were walking along flat distances, I might consider doing this more often. Between where I live and work, there is a foothill, which at times can be a little steep for my tastes.

Yesterday, I missed my bus by 10 seconds. Now, a choice. Stand in the cold and wait for another 30 minutes, walk 3 minutes to Starbucks, buy a coffee, and wait... Or, look at all this fat I gained over the holidays.

I decided it wouldn't hurt to walk to the next bus stop, just up the hill. Just as I took one step toward the next stop, a second bus arrived. It goes maybe one third the distance I need to go, but it goes up the foothill. I boarded. Sorry.

I got off the bus at its end destination, a happy little spot called Park im Greuene where children laugh and play. But, it's winter, so not so many happy children playing outside. I bundled up a bit, walked to the next stop, checked the time for my bus, decided to continue. This pattern continued a few more times. Soon, I had walked the distance into work. Granted, the hard part was up a hill on a bus, and the remainder was flat and down a long hill, but it gave me a little encouragement to think about doing a little more next time. Maybe I might also like it.

Just maybe not in a suit and leather office shoes.