Diary Day 4
September 17, 2018
If my kids are with me for the first portion of the week, then that means Monday starts early with fixing lunches, a wakeup reminder and getting my own things ready for work. My son rides his bike to school nearby if it is not raining, and I will drive my daughter to Muncie Central on my way to the office.
She is nearly 17, and old enough to have earned a learner’s permit and even her license. Currently she has neither, as she didn’t show much initial interest in learning to drive, quite different from her mother or I when we were at that age. However, the sight of a few friends with driving privileges and some with their own late-model cars, plus a new job on the horizon, have suddenly heightened her desire. She will ask me to take her driving for awhile tonight.
Today at work is an unusual one, as we are moving our office elsewhere in the building to a slightly smaller space. I didn’t always need as much space as I had, but it being my first office of any kind, I kept that much to myself! The new workspace will be cozier, yet more private, if that makes any sense. It is a less public area of the building, and there will likely be fewer visitors and less outside interruptions. Still, I will miss my large window that caught the glare of the sun each morning/.
The day progresses and I am ready for the move, which will likely take much of the day on Tuesday just unpacking and putting things in a new home.
After work, my son and I bike through the Ball State campus, which is crowded prior to the start of evening classes. We weave our way through the sidewalks and I have to remind him to let me know where he’s going and when he plans to stop, since he’s in the lead. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to be on the sidewalks or not, but the prospect of biking alongside car traffic on the narrow campus roads makes me nervous. Without getting on too much of a soapbox rant, I feel the drastically lower speed limits and multiple stop signs create a false sense of security among the students, who dare cars and bicycles alike by strolling leisurely in front of them. I understand BSU wants to minimize risks to pedestrians, (and legal risk to itself) but I have a feeling it is a slippery slope to a pedestrian-only campus. Since BSU has some of the best roads and many of the best views of Muncie, it’s frustrating when car traffic is slowed to a trickle through the main thoroughfares. The end result is more traffic pushed into the neighborhoods as a cut-through and greater risk to walkers and cyclists there.
Evening brings dinner and a homemade (sort of) pizza, if you call a rolled-out crust and added ingredients from the refrigerator to be homemade. Still, my son and daughter seem satisfied with the food and I am able to take my daughter driving following cleanup. The first parking lot we go to is crowded with cars and school-event traffic, so we find a smaller one nearer to home. We spend about 25 minutes circling the lot in the near-dark, even venturing up and down a residential street a few times. She takes to the wheel, brake and accelerator better than before, as her familiarity grows.
By biking and performing drivers’ ed tonight, I have limited the opportunity for a walk. I am participating in a run/walk event in Cincinnati this weekend through its historic brewery district, and here’s a hint: I won’t be running, rather enjoying the sights and sounds of one of my favorite cities. I walk around six miles a few times a week, and Saturday’s course is nearly nine. I haven’t walked that far recently, but it shouldn’t be too hard to add about an hour to my usual routine. I’ve completed four half-marathons walking, and a full 26-miler, so I’m not too worried as long as the rain stays away.
Tuesday, we will begin our weekday routine again, and I’ll probably make up for my lack of walking Monday with a lot of foot time in our move! Until next time.