Walking with Maura

As the month of October gets close to its end it has been difficult for Maura and me to get out, even on the weekends. Times are tough and there is little money to go new places. We still spend time together, though. One journey we make together almost every day.

When Maura started first grade at the beginning of September I decided that as long as it was practical we would walk to school and walk home. It’s just over a mile and a half each way. I thought it would be a good idea to save gas and both of us can use the exercise. We’ve walked at least one way almost every day since the beginning of the school year.

I’ve really enjoyed my daily walks with Maura, even though we don’t get to talk much. The traffic noise makes conversation difficult. Maura keeps talking but she’s always looking down and away from me to avoid stumbling while she walks and I miss a lot of what she says. Still, just spending time with my daughter makes the walks enjoyable for me.

I am also very proud of her. She walks further every day than many parents would ever ask their six-year-olds to walk and she does it without complaint. I think she enjoys it almost as much as I do. She agrees that the walk is good exercise and as long as we walk I’m not much worried about Maura getting too chubby. As much as she would like to sit in front of the TV when we are home, I know she is getting a fair amount of exercise.

I know Maura especially enjoys the days when we stop on the way home for a treat, usually at the donut shop that is about halfway between home and school. A hot drink and a donut make a nice treat on raw days, and once we left the house early and shared a good breakfast on our way to school.

We may not be walking often for long. Soon we may largely give it up until spring, though I plan on walking in good weather into November, at least in the afternoon. We’ve already mostly given up walking in the mornings. It’s been chilly and it’s hard to get up in the dark to be ready a half-hour early so there is time to walk. For now we’ll keep walking in the afternoon, at least on dry and pleasant days. Soon enough the winter cold will be here, and the winter darkness. The shadows will already be getting long at 3:30 when we are walking home from school and the sidewalks will be icy after snow. Then we will stop walking because it will not be safe or pleasant. I will be eagerly awaiting the light and warmth of spring, and I think Maura will be too.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, Saturday October 4th

Saturday was the official opening of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway on the site of what was once the elevated expressway. We went down for the outdoor events that took place all day. We had a great time. The weather was nearly perfect for early October and there was plenty to do and see along the Greenway.

Maura and I headed down after her soccer game in the morning. Jennifer was already downtown and met us outside of South Station around eleven, after we had come in on the Red Line.

We decided to do a treasure hunt. By finding the clues to answer a set of questions that in turn gave us letters to spell out a phrase we could win a prize. It was an excuse to wander up and down the Greenway and explore while we searched. Along the way we sampled some food (quite enough for a good lunch), heard some music, watched some dancing and learned a bit about Boston. Maura was able to make several art projects while I tracked down the clues. The neatest project was a flag for a flag tree. Flags made by visitors to the Greenway Opening were hung on lines from a pole. Together they made a very colorful display which grew throughout the day.

At the North End end of the Greenway we saw a display on Boston’s archeology and heard a fife and drum band perform. The Archaeological Institute of America is headquartered in Boston and had a booth where they were highlighting the finds that were made during the construction of the tunnel running under the Greenway. They were also giving away copies of their magazines and Maura picked up a copy of Dig, which is their kids’ magazine. It would make me very proud if she took an interest in archaeology. It wouldn’t surprise me, though. She seems to enjoy many of the things that I do.

From the North End we walked back down the Greenway to the other end, in China Town. In the beautifully landscaped park at the edge of China Town they were putting on dance and martial arts demonstrations. While Maura and Jennifer watched, I finished the treasure hunt and left Maura to collect the prize. I headed home on my own to be sure to make it in time to get to work by four.

There will only be one official opening of the Greenway but I hope that the Greenway continues to see lots of use and that the opening event is a model for things to come. The Greenway needs to have people on it to be fully appreciated. Empty it is still an improvement over the shadowed wasteland that was there before the highway was buried but without events to draw people it could quickly become a place to cross and not a place to stop.