It's funny how you aren't always aware of something until it's missing. Growing up we were very active out of necessity. My mother didn't learn to drive until she was in her thirties so we had one car and one driver in the household. The car wasn't to be used frivolously, either, because fuel wasn't free and neither was wear and tear. My father used to be a mechanic, so he did most of the repairs himself and when it wasn't absolutely necessary to use the car, we walked.
Before the big supermarkets we'd shop at different places for our needs. A grocery trip was a walk into town, stopping at the best priced bakery, butcher's and green grocers. Then we'd walk home loaded with shopping bags, or at least my mum did, because my sister and I never got far before our bags became too heavy.
The journey to school was a walk to a house which took us and some others there by minibus. At one point my sister decided she didn't want to do that any more and opted to cycle to school, so I did too. I had one bike throughout that period of time and I grew into it. I used to have to cycle standing, because I couldn't reach the pedals if my bottom was on the seat.
Then it was off to college on the buses. It was a little bit too far for cycling, but there was plenty of walking between the bus stops as I changed from one to another.
My work life started out on the buses too. Then I got a motorbike, which requires more movement than a car. Eventually I learnt to drive a car and if you work in the city you'll know the value of the park and ride. Some walking is generally required, but leave a bit earlier and you can sometimes find parking which will allow for a half hour walk to your place of work so you can save on the bus fare. My husband's car would often be out of commission and his place of work was not easily accessed via the bus routes, so then I'd be back on the buses. A walk to the bus stop on the main road, a bus to the city centre then either a bus out to my place of work or I'd just walk if I'd had enough of buses and some of the odd people on them (why do all the creepiest, smelliest people always seem to sit next to you, even when there are plenty of empty seats?)
On Saturdays we'd go to the indoor bouldering wall in Nottingham and encourage others to join us. Only my father came regularly with us. I kept climbing for most of my pregnancy, but as children took up our time we stated to go less and less.
When I had children and I discovered how it felt when I didn't move as much.
Depressing.
I'd go to mother and toddler groups once a week, but just drove there, unless hubby had the car. It took me a while to realise the correlation between my sinking into depression and my lack of activity. I now had to consciously make sure I incorporated activity into my week. The supermarket wasn't far from us, so if I didn't need to do a huge shop I could put my daughter into the pushchair, then load the shopping onto the pushchair for the journey home. Sometimes the rain can put you off heading out, but after 3 or 4 days of it I just had to get the rain cover on the pushchair and head out anyway, even just to walk into town.
Once my eldest started at nursery school I didn't have to think about being active again. There wasn't much chance of parking near the school and it was only a 15 minute walk anyway, so we walked and often chatted with other mums also making the school delivery. Plenty of us did the trip on foot.
Then the school holidays would arrive and I'd need to try and remember not to let myself get stuck in the house again. We'd walk to the local playground if the weather permitted or we'd get our waterproofs on and play in the rain if we had to.
Our neighbours had a child of their own around the time my second was born and we'd often go out and let them all play together on our dead end street, while we chatted and took turns helping them on walkers and later bikes.
When we moved to Australia, my husband got work and used the only car were had, so I'd walk the girls to school again. However, things aren't as close in Australia as they are in England. It was more than twice as far and we discovered how much harder it is to walk on a sweltering hot day. If hubby finished on time he could sometimes collect us as we walked home and save us from some of that journey. Eventually he got a work vehicle and we got to use the car. Luckily it didn't make us too inactive, because we'd often take trips to the beach after work and school finished for the day and commonly went on outings at the weekend.
In general, the distances in Australia mean we use the car a lot more and walk a lot less. I know I'm getting less exercise in, in fact gardening is about it at the moment. I also know my physical and mental health has been paying for it, especially since this lockdown. Yet the less I do the less motivation I have to do anything. I know I should male the time for getting active again, but without a reason for it, I find it hard to motivate myself, especially when I know there are other things I should be doing that are deemed to be more productive by others.
Family outings don't happen any more, because there's always someone who doesn't want to be there. It's easiest to just go out in pairs. A shopping trip with one daughter, a fishing trip for hubby, somewhere to get some photography in for the other daughter. It's winter right now, though, and few people want to be out in the rain...
We're eyeing up a bouldering wall in Keswick. I think it's time to get back on the horse after all these years and the girls might even join us.
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