Yesterday, I attempted to drive my son to Elementary School because it was cold (-8 degrees Celsius) and to be truthful, I was feeling lazy.   He goes to school about ten blocks away, down a hill, in the centre of our town.  The school has approximately 750 students from Kindergarten to Grade seven.

Now here is the kicker: The school drop-off was absolutely insane.  I was seriously shaking my head at how many cars there were.  I couldn’t even get into the school parking lot.

(View of parking lot from the top of hill I had to traverse!)

I ended up parking on a busy side road, hauling all three kids out of their car seats, walking around the very busy parking lot, over a huge snow pile, and then down the other side clinging onto the chainlink fence.

We made it into the line-up just as the bell rang.

I think we will go back to walking to school!

But this brings up my next point: Why don’t we walk more?  Why don’t more people get out of their cars and walk into the restaurant?  I understand if you have children to tote or a wheelchair to unfold, but if you are able-bodied and alone in your car, why do you go through the drive thru?

Our fifteen month old just started walking on the weekend.  What a joy it is to see his smiling faces as he “cowboy” walks across the living room!

Last point for today, when my husband was teaching grade six/seven, a city planner came in and asked the students to draw their neighbourhood.  Those children that walked to school had more awareness of the environment around them and perhaps more of an appreciation.  Do children notice how crunchy chestnuts are when you step on them or learn how to walk along a concrete barrier when they are zooming down the road in a car?

Yup, I think that walking is a pretty important skill to utilize, something we shouldn’t take for granted!

Thanks baby OC for reminding me of this lesson – now just remember to watch out for the table!