Walk In Her Shoes

This week is the week I've committed to CARE's Walk In Her Shoes fundraiser. That pedometer reading was at 11am on day 2. After dropping the girls off at school that morning, I enjoyed a gorgeous walk along the beach with a girlfriend and her crazy dog. We walked into Cottesloe, enjoyed tea and breakfast and then returned. It was a brilliant morning, glorious sunshine, fabulous company, good exercise...safe and warm and beautiful and so easy to crank out those steps on my way to 10,000 for the day!

And then I wondered if that was somehow missing the point.

The women this fundraiser intends to recognize do not and may never take walks like mine. What a supreme luxury I indulge in for my own benefit (exercise with a friend and then breakfast out!) just because I can. Wow. Lucky me!

So on day 3, I decided to keep it real. No purposeful distance-logging walks for me. With an international move coming up, I'm under an oppressive to-do list. I decided to work on that as I would have done without the fundraiser. Guess how many steps I logged by late afternoon that day?

3,479

I was nowhere near the goal of 10,000 steps for the day, but I did feel the point of it so much more. I hardly walked at all. I spent most of my day sitting. I drove my daughter to a specialist doctor's appointment. I sat and waited, and we saw the doctor without much fuss. I could pay for the visit. My daughter's health is good and I don't have to worry. I can afford to buy the medicine she needs. I drove her back to her private school in one of the safest, most beautiful locations I can imagine, where she is instructed well and openly, and I don't have to consider the possibility that as a girl she will not complete schooling to stay home and work or to marry young for money and security. I drove myself home, made several phone calls and used my computer. I made myself lunch from a plentifully stocked pantry. I drove back to school to pick up my younger daughter and we drove with friends to the local library where the children could play with toys and books and fun kiddie furniture while the moms enjoyed a cuppa and a chat while we clocked time before picking up the older kids...

A normal day in the life of a suburban mom.

But what a luxurious life that is!

I logged well under 5,000 steps yesterday, because I didn't have to walk to get anywhere really. When I'm thirsty, I open the tap and clean clear water comes out. When I'm hungry, I can afford to buy the food my body needs (and plenty more that it doesn't). I have access to quality medical care, schooling, security...the list is endless. Not making my 10,000 steps made me so much more aware of the luxury of my situation, of how blessed I am and my children are, and how important the initiatives like Walk In Her Shoes can be.

(For the record, I did make it to and exceed 10,000 steps all other days this week. I stuck to that commitment, though I appreciated the lesson midway through)