Walking

I saw something on my way to work this morning that I haven't seen in years. Two youngish children walking to school. Alone. No parent. They were brother and sister, he was about 8 years old and she looked to be around 6 years old. He stood one or two footsteps in front of her on the moderately busy four-way-stop corner and looked both ways. After I passed, in the rear view mirror I saw him take her hand and lead her across. I knew which school they were heading for, it was a couple of more blocks away. The feeling of deja vu swept over me and I remembered what walking to school was like when I was a kid. We walked miles through neighborhoods picking up our friends at their homes as we passed by. We looked like lines of ants all heading in the same direction, sidewalks and corners filled with kids from all directions, all heading toward a common goal. We all lived to tell it, too.
Kids are bussed to school now, or driven by their parents but no one walks anymore. At our school the kids aren't even allowed to walk if they live on the next block over. Times are different now, but boy, I can remember the conversations we had as kids as we walked to school. I can remember we pointed out the 'pretty' houses, or the nicest old lady living in a certain house, or trying not to step on cracks in the sidewalks or singing our favorite songs in harmony as we walked or the time I got buried by a snowplow.
It's a beautiful spring morning here today and driving from my mom's house to work through the old neighborhood and seeing these two little ones walking without supervision just about made my day...and it's only 8:32 a.m.
My mom, by the way, had a knee replacement on Tuesday. She came through it ok but is not happy with the after effects right now. I show her my knee replacement scars and keep saying it will get better and then she won't be sorry for a minute. Who knows, maybe she'll feel good enough someday to walk to school.