Not to make this a running theme, but I was bullied into an evening walk by my Fitbit. “Only 2,334 steps to go!” it reminded me. I knew I could make a convincing argument that I had gone on a 45 minute walk earlier today, that I had burned well over 2,000 calories today, and that even 8,766 steps in a day was a damn good accomplishment, but already the Guilt Monster was chomping away at what it knew would be its next meal.

An evening walk was necessary.

Once again, Fitbit proves her worth.

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Minus the well, this is the beautiful skyline I grew up with.

Despite the fracking well (which is an unwelcome addition to the farm where I grew up), my walk gave me time to think about how lucky I was to grow up here in Western Pennsylvania.

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I scared up a lot of bunnies, but this was the only one who agreed to appear in my blog.

The evening air was cool, but there was a warm breeze. The fracking well was blessedly silent: I sort of missed the grinding of my grandfather’s tractor in the twilight (he passed over a decade ago).

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The hay used to smell sweeter in the field between my parents and grandparents’ houses.

Back and forth, up and down the gravel lane I walked. There aren’t a lot of places to walk here anymore. When I was a kid, my family and our dogs would walk the perimeter of the fields, even on the hottest evenings. Now all the drainage my Papap had installed has collapsed, leaving swampy marshes.

But those are sad thoughts. How can I be sad? I mean, just look at this moon:

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I wanted to be 7 again, lying on the dewey grass, looking up at this moon.

I love where I grew up. I know it isn’t perfect, that the house needs a lot of work, and neither of my parents got exactly what they wanted here. But now it’s forty years later, and my siblings and I have grown up. I wouldn’t move back here to my hometown, because I don’t see a future for myself here.

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The friendly yellow house.

But it’s comforting to know that many things stay the same.

Thanks Fitbit.

And thanks to Two Writing Teachers for the Slice of Life Link Up Challenge.
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