I took the above photo when I was out walking Tuukka, my lovable and gigantic dog. As you've probably figured out, I'm his morning walker; my husband usually takes him in the afternoons. If either of us is away, the other does both walks.
You're probably thinking, "Why don't their kids ever walk the dog? Wasn't he supposed to be a gift for them?" You're right. We probably demonstrated fifteen kinds of bad parenting by doing all the dog walking ourselves. Sue me. (Or, if you're one of my kids, go into therapy to undo the damage I've caused. I'll pay.)
On the other hand, I love my daily Tuukka walks. I'm a big fan of getting my steps in, sure, but that's not even in my top five reasons to love my daily walks. Below, in no special order, I offer you some other reasons to love a daily walk.
- It's a great time to listen to podcasts. I learn about all kinds of fun topics while I walk.
- I notice my world more. I wouldn't have seen the cool (super cold, actually) ice formation pictured above had I not needed to take the dog out.
- I get to see what's going on around me, on campus and in the area.
- Walks often inspire great ideas. Sometimes, when I have some dilemma I need to solve, I leave the earphones at home and use the time to ponder.
- Staying inside gets dull and productivity wanes. When I think I'm on a roll with the grading or prepping, but I've been sitting in the same place for a long time, it turns out that I can be way more efficient after I've taken a fresh-air break.
So that's five reasons that have nothing to do with the important and proven benefits of getting daily exercise.
As this post goes live, I'll be on my way to a school-sponsored trip to Poland. I'm so eager to get to walk about in this fascinating, history-filled country. I promise to post about it when I return.
[Update since I originally wrote this post: Covid-19 = no trip to Poland right now, but since my husband did get to go on his trip, to the Marine Biological Research Station in Wood's Hole, Massachusetts, I am getting in plenty of great dog walks!]
Are you a walker? Runner? Crawler? What's your favorite reason to walk? Please tell about it in the comments.