Sunday Night With John: The Sunday Morning Stroll

It’s a Sunday morning and unfortunately, the weekend is on its last day. I finally stir from bed and begin my morning routine.  As I walk around the house, memories from a fun homecoming parade through downtown Iowa City on Friday night and a great day of tailgating at a friends house on Saturday (I kept checking my phone for the Notre Dame Score) were fresh in my mind. We even had an impromptu chili cooking session, and for slapping it together it wasn’t too shabby.  A fun weekend was just what I needed after a long week.  I had talk out of town and Anne had some extra things to do at work. Leading busy lives, sometimes it’s tough in life to carve out time for each other and say thank you, I love you, I miss you, and maybe more importantly, remember to play catch up with the people you love.

As I continue to move about the house, Anne isn’t too far behind in her morning routine of watching cooking shows. I check the weather and let her know it’s going to be around 40 degrees this morning with a chance of rain.  We both gather our clothes for what has become our Sunday ritual. It started out innocent enough for the two of us. I go for long runs on Saturdays, and Anne loves her marathon gym sessions on Saturdays, too. She was looking for a low-key Sunday workout and I was in search of a way to not allow soreness in my legs from the previous day to set in from my long run the day before.  Anne is notorious for spending hours walking around town.  She loves to walk and I decided to join her on Sundays.  Since about July, it has become our weekly tradition.  

As we layered up for the fall weather we would walk in today, we began to chat about the weekend and seeing our friends. I made sure to grab a hat, as my baldhead gets cold rather quickly.  It’s just chilly enough out to be thankful for my hat and extra layer.  The conversation unfolds easily as I’m always reminded within two minutes of our walk how funny and intelligent my wife is.  I laugh as we talk about chaperoning the 9th grade homecoming dance at her school a few weeks ago. Just a quick side story: One of her students asked to speak with her privately. This student said to Anne, “What are you thinking, you can do way better. I mean a giant red beard, what did he just get done cutting down a forest.”  Even though my ego took a small hit from being pulled back into 9th grade drama. The young teenager was right about something; I hit the jackpot when it comes to my wife. Every Sunday as we walk through the parks and streets of Iowa City, the minor struggles of life fade away as we chat about life and re-connect to start our week and end our weekend.

Today we talked about where to vacation this year. I’m pushing hard for a hiking trip in the redwoods of California and or a trip to Boston because I have never been.  She is still hoping to get to Europe.  Maybe our walks over the next few months will help us make a decision. As our walk continues, we chat about what it would be like to parents. Relationships, like anything in life we want to keep alive, need to be cultivated and nurtured. We thanked each other for different household crappy chores that we completed this week, and planned our dinner of delicious clam chowder soup with hot ham and Swiss cheese sandwiches for tonight. We also begrudgingly agreed to finally take care recycling as it was taking over half of our driveway.  Our walk continued around the corners of neighborhoods and hidden alley ways.   But, as we turned the corner to walk the last tenth of the 6 miles we covered today on our Sunday stroll, Anne and I were re-connected. I have been married only 4 months and I won’t even dare to dole out stay-married advice after such a short time. But, what I do know is that every Sunday morning I get to spend two hours with Anne and see her how I saw her on our first date, when I purposed, and when we said our vows, and that is the most beautiful view I have ever had. I see a woman who is beautiful, intelligent, caring, funny, and probably a little out of my league. Having a Sunday morning with her all to myself is the best; it’s just the best.