Thanksgiving morning -- my son, a fourth grader, decides to go with me on my run through the grandparent's neighborhood. I know this means running more slowly and maybe not as far as I usually do, but what I did not know was that it also meant I would not get lost. We head out, jogging lightly. My directions the grandparents were to go up one block, turn right, take the next right, and the next to loop back to where I started. Sounded easy enough and the neighborhood was pretty familiar. I had driven through it plenty of times over the years, but this was the first time I had run or walked through this part of it.
The first two rights were easy and obvious, but when faced with several intersections to pick from on the next street, I could not remember which street name lead me back. We slowed our pace to a brisk walk and even stopped to pick up some huge maple leaves and a handful of tiny acorns. I started to head toward one of the streets on the next block when my son asked me why I was going that way, he pointed out the street we needed to be on. I asked him if he was sure and he said yes. He mentioned the things he had noticed on our way out -- a pile of leaf bags, the make of a car in a driveway, a yard decoration. My own instincts were muddled and I marveled at the level of detail he had taken in when we started out. A few minutes later we were turning down the street grandma and grandpa's house. I told him he was better than a
Garmin and more fun to run with!