Most mornings, before the sun is too much to bare, my mother and I go on a walk around the block. The distance is about 1 mile and it takes us about 25 minutes to complete.
It started as a habit I wanted to build for my mother but I ended up extending it to me as well. Our walks began at a slow pace. I would get agitated because I just wanted to get done with it and move on to other things.
But then I started to think, this is valuable quality time that I get to have with my mom. There probably won't be many times like these in the future. When I shifted my perspective, I enjoyed the walks more. I feel that one of the best ways to have a conversation with someone is while walking.
My mom liked to do most of the talking. And I let her because I liked listening. My mom is a stay-at-home mom. Most of the time my father is at work and my sister and I are busy with our things. Our mom on the other hand keeps the housing running. I think about how it might be lonely sometimes for her. So the moments we share I feel are the greatest.
On our walks, we admire the plants and flowers in our neighbor's yards. Every though we've walked this path many times there is always something new we never noticed before. My mom loves stopping to smell the flowers. One time she did and the neighbor that owned the house saw. She went to my mother and told us to come to her backyard. The neighbor had plenty of more flowers there, she wanted to show us. She said that she appreciates people admiring her flowers.
When I thought of this moment I thought of the irony of the saying “Stop to smell the flower”. Even though it's a cliché it is true. How powerful it is to be aware of the things around you and staying present.