2024.06.20 by Josh Erb; 243 words.
I'm starting to feel nostalgic about the routines in my life, which is weird. Maybe because I know that the shape of my daily life is about to change. There's one routine in particular I'm going to miss. I'm fortunate to live within walking distance to my son's daycare. Every morning I grab his stroller and walk him through the Capitol Hill neighborhood of DC for about 15 minutes before dropping him off.
I wanted to capture the impression of this quiet morning walk. It's not really possible unless you're there and sensitive to the moment. Everything else is just a crude reproduction. Nonetheless, I recorded a 5(ish) minute chunk of it this week, and I'm sharing it here. It's a meditative track. The constant rumble of the stroller's wheels on the brick sidewalk. The ructions of vehicle engines as they speed by or slow down for speed bumps. A random snatch of words as I walk by neighbors having idle conversations. But mostly the birds. More birds that you might think if you weren't paying attention.
As I get older, I realize more and more what a gift it is to be alive to the world around me. Why would I put in headphones when there is so much to be hear every morning?