Back in September, I decided we would walk every Thursday morning to the local café and do schoolwork over lunch. We would get out of the house, not use our car, and be part of our neighborhood.
The kids thought the idea was great—except for the walking part. We live in upstate New York where it’s cold, snowy and grey for half the year. I vowed that we would bundle up and brave ANY weather—“It’ll put hair on your chest!” I quoted my father. They rolled their eyes, but bundled up.
Autumn is quite lovely around here so the first weeks were pleasant and we got to know our café workers. They began to guess what we liked to order, and we started learning each others names. Two of the workers were homeschooled! And then winter set in.
The 2010- 2011 winter is considered within the top ten for snow and cold. I picked a great year to initiate a weekly walk (insert sarcasm here). Yet my children never complained. I never complained. Why? Because it was always sunny.
Every Thursday was sunny. Even when we started mentioning it to people. Even when other people walked with us. Even when it became a joke on other days of the week, “It’s really nice out, and it’s not even a Thursday!”
Late December we missed a couple of Thursday walks due to illness and a holiday party. It was still sunny out.
January came with sunny Thursdays.
February came with sunny Thursdays.
The snow grew mountainous on all sides, the footpaths were covered in ice, but the sun kept us smiling. Sometimes, the clouds would roll in as we sat and ate our lunch, but the sun would peek back out for our walk home.
The streak continued until one day our favorite café worker told us he was leaving and wanted to say good-bye. We were sad to see him go. The next week it rained. The streak was over. Coincidence? Perhaps (we miss you Zach!).
I sit here in mid-April, looking out the café window on a sunny Thursday, and wonder about it all. I emailed our local meteorologist to check out the story. Maybe our memories were faulty? But we *walked—*of course we would notice the weather. In a year as snowy as this one, what is the probability of one day of the week always having sun in the morning? If he gets back to me, I’ll fill you in. Till then, get out and enjoy the Spring sunshine—even if it’s not a Thursday.
