I had to walk Isabel to school this morning (I don't drive and my husband has a bad back and decided very last minute that he's taking a drivers sabbatical). What started out as a typical morning freak out session of "Hurry up Izzy! Get your boots on! You're going to be late! Let's go! I said LET'S GO!!", turned out to be anything but.
I was so afraid that her little four year old legs attached to her still half asleep body, would get so tired during the 15 minute walk that I'd be pushing a screaming child through the school gates. Or worse, that I'd end up having to carry her, her bag and my morning burden (which weighs a tonne) all the way there. But as soon as Izzy found out we were walking, her face lit up. Her eyes woke up, her body straightened and her smile made it's first appearance of the day.
Before we even got to the end of the road, she was asking if we could do this everyday. I actually stopped to look at her, really look at her face, and take in how happy she looked. I haven't had (the time for) a pure moment like that in a while. And she was so darn proud of the fact that she walked all the way to school, 'just like the big girls', that she's made me want to walk that walk everyday.
Now, what's that they say about the mind being willing but the flesh being ....