As we were about 2.5 blocks from the end of the walk, a car approached us from behind, then pulled up next to us. A man we don't know leaned out of the window and started talking to us. He told us with a smile that, "Thanks to you guys, I've joined a da** gym." He said that he and his wife see us walking every day, and we have inspired them to go walking every day now, as well. He laughingly told us that he can only get around the block a time or two because he's so out of shape, but that we need to keep it up because we are an inspiration. He then said goodbye, did a U-turn, and drove away.
We were a little awed by the experience, and a little bit in shock. We have had so much support and encouragement from all of you who read this blog, and we are so grateful for that support. However, we didn't know we were an inspiration to complete strangers in our own neighborhood. We don't know who he is, but he has now inspired us to keep going. We've talked before about our religious beliefs; today we discussed it, and we can't accept that the timing was coincidental. If we had gone out at our normal time, we may not have had this wonderful experience.
It gets hard sometimes to keep going. Weather restrictions, health, mental health, and even pure laziness are, at times, very BIG obstacles. We started this blog last year as much for our own inspiration as to inspire others. We hoped that if we had the responsibility of keeping up the blog, it would help us be more motivated to keep going. It has worked out that way, too. We also hoped that we could inspire others, but mostly that we could show people that they aren't alone in their struggle to get healthy. You have all shown us that we aren't alone, either.
I'll close with another "Thank you," and the pictures from today's walk.
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