I didn't understand what I was feeling until I returned to Maryland for a week. One of the benefits of

our recent move to South Carolina at the end of 2020 was an even more active life. The weather is

warmer and our community is designed for walking, running, and biking. Ava was out of the

wheelchair and able to navigate life without much assistance, so I headed to

Maryland to direct our spring fundraiser. I stayed with our son's family about 10 minutes from our

old home. Being that close to the old neighborhood allowed me to take three walks while there in

Maryland. The first walk surprised me. It felt oddly normal, like I had never left. It was the second

walk that revealed the cause of something I'd been feeling after moving to South Carolina.

Ava's accident changed life pretty significantly for almost two months. Obviously, she felt the

bigger changes, but I was impacted too. As her recovery moved forward

and her need for my help slowly lessened, I had more freedom to go for longer walks.

And it was during this time when I started feeling something I couldn't remember feeling for a long,

long time. I didn't want to. And it wasn't just a rare feeling.

Almost every time I would start thinking about taking a longer walk, I encountered this.

Gratefully, it almost never kept me from going for a walk, but I wasn't used to navigating

through emotions like this. For a while, I simply attributed it to lingering effects from the disruption the accident caused.

I figured it would eventually go away.

Until then, I would simply have to get used to pushing through.

Back in Maryland, I took three walks through the old neighborhood.

It was during the second walk, I discovered the cause of my, I don't feel like it, emotions,

whenever I wanted to take a longer walk at our new home.

I was enjoying my second walk through the old neighborhood marveling at how normal it felt.

...