It isn’t that I mind having company on my morning walks—I don’t. In fact, I welcome someone joining me while I walk. But there are some caveats.
- Brian doesn’t talk in the morning. I’m not cranky or in a bad mood, but the parts of my brain that do the talking aren’t even scheduled to be at work until I’ve been awake for an hour, and they are often running late. There is a misconception that this means I’m grumpy. I wake up most days ready to go and with a lot of motivation. I also don’t want to talk… about anything.
- Brian doesn’t want to hear you talk in the morning. Without the support of the speech staff, the listening staff isn’t really organized and ready yet first thing in the morning. They hear you, but they cannot give you their full attention. The morning agenda rarely includes people talking, so they just aren’t sure what to do when it happens.
- Brian is not admin. I’m never admin, but it is especially true when I first wake up. I cannot solve your problems for you yet. That takes skills I won’t have until much later in the day, if at all. I hear you. You have an issue. I appreciate that, but I cannot help.
- Brian will become cranky if you keep accusing him of being cranky. We are all different. My morning process involves quiet for an hour at minimum. I love the sounds of morning, from birds in the trees to the sound of a coffee maker. Because I don’t talk, I’m often accused of being cranky as I said. I’m not; I’m just enjoying the stillness before my day gets going. However, if asked enough times I will in fact deliver what you are ordering. And I hate that I become so annoyed, but it just seems like some days I’m wrong for existing the way I am.
None of these caveats negate my interest in exercising with someone else. I’d love to do that, but maybe what I really require is ground rules.
- Speak softly an stay off my back. A simple greeting or brief discussion is fine. Get straight to it, but not too loudly. My tone will be what my tone is. Again, I don’t mind even if my mouth isn’t working yet.
- Have a plan. The best time to discuss an exercise/walking session is the day before. Plan what you are going to do, be flexible enough to change things as needed, and be ready to do the thing. If your mouth is already fully with it, you body should be as well.
- Sort it out. As I mentioned, I’m not admin. If you headphones are tangled or you are having an issue with your shoes, you might need to figure that out. And that is okay. I wouldn’t dream of asking for help with that stuff for myself.
- It’s okay to do what it is that you can/want to do. I walk at least 2 miles in the morning. I wake up at 5am and I leave the house by 5:30am. The times vary & the route varies, but if you think it is too far, or not far enough, that’s cool. Do your own walk if you need to. I’m happy to walk beside you while it makes sense, but the morning walk/exercise is about your own fitness goals, so we might not sync up precisely. Don’t worry about that. And if you’d rather do a different walk, but just at the same time, that’s cool too. Do that. Don’t tie your routine to me.
- Post-walk is when I write. I need about 20 minutes sometime after my walk for logging & blogging.
I think there is a sort of popular way people like to walk and talk. It’s a nice leisurely stroll through a park and it is very nice. I’m actually very interested in doing that sort of thing. It just isn’t the same as my morning walk. That is about increasing my heart rate, waking up, and enjoying the dawn.
[Walk #113]
