Sunday Night With Anne: Let's Go For A Walk
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Let’s Go For A Walk
Anne Hansen
When asked to write my very own Sunday Night with John, my mind wandered to subjects near and far. I thought about what is important to me in life and how my life experiences have shaped who I am today and in turn, how I use those experiences to mold the lives of my two sweet daughters. The one subject I couldn’t shake was my love for going for a walk and what a “walk” has truly meant for my life.
Moving back to my hometown and walking the same streets I wandered as a child, has brought back feelings of discovery and independence. I remember the sense of excitement when the school bell would ring and I knew I had until dinner time to go out and explore on foot, dependent on no one. I had no place to be but in the moment. I walked with my friend Jessica and plotted my next big project. I wandered with my walkman and became forever connected to a new song or album. I remember coming home from a walk feeling like I had written Bruce Springsteen’s Thunder Road myself! My body was moving, my mind was at ease and I was in touch with who I was and who I was becoming.
In college, walking around Iowa City helped me become connected to my new home. I developed walking paths for when I felt anxious, for when I wanted to find inspiration for an art project, for certain amounts of time, and for when I was feeling especially excited to be a Hawkeye. Walking truly connected me to Iowa City. When I think about what I miss the most about my home of 18 years, it’s easily my walking paths.
At another point in my life, I took a semester off college to do nothing but walk around Europe. Lucky for me, I was joined by a partner who shared my love of exploring for endless hours on foot. We woke every morning, packed up what we needed for the day and walked from street to street, town to town. Our only mission of the day might be to wander long enough to fill our sketchbooks with stickers ripped off light poles. We walked dark streets of Holland gazing into brightly and cleverly lit homes dreaming about what our grown-up homes would look like. And we walked the bitterly cold streets of Berlin to find the best bratwurst stand. And when I met my mom in Nice, I remember having a moment where my months of walking caught up with me. My legs could barely take me up a big hill in one of the most beautiful spots in the world. When looking back at this epic semester, I can barely recall a time when I was not walking. My feet took me on a journey that changed my heart and mind forever. It turned me from a child to an adult.
When I first met John, he and a friend had recently taken up backpacking. I knew this was right up my alley. With John’s encouragement and purchasing of a lot of gear, I can proudly say that I once hiked 18 miles of steep terrain in one day with 40 pounds on my back. We continue to expand our backpacking accomplishments each year.
I can’t wrap up my love of walking without mentioning my walking partner for the last five years, my dog Marv. Despite the busyness of life with a full-time job and two children under 18 months old, Marv reminds me of the importance of walking when a walk could easily be the last thing on my list. He gets me on a walk in the wee hours of the morning and during precious nap times. Through rain, sleet and snow with a skip in both of our steps. Marv’s wagging tail reminds me of why I walk because it makes me as happy as a five-year-old Goldendoodle! If I had a tail, it would be wagging every time I lace up my walking shoes.