It’s been a couple of very icy, snowy days, and we’ve been mostly housebound. With only one walk a day, my little Cody has adjusted well and has appeared to grow new brain cells that allow him to let me know that he needs to go out to do his business rather than doing it on any carpeted area he can access. Yes, he has diapers or man-band due to his bladder issues. And with my track record of not being able to walk without tripping or falling in the best of conditions, it was better to wait it out. (I already had an incident resulting in a bruised butt cheek, but let’s not dwell on it..)

After I dropped the G off for her regular visit with her best pal, I took the little guy to Mill Pond to walk for a change. It was still freezing, but some people were actually out enjoying the frigid sunshine. I must admit it was beautiful out -without the wind, being outside was quite do-able.

We saw a fellow walking with what looked like his son (upon closer inspection it appeared it was likely his grandson). They caught our attention as the toddler slipped and fell, needing a hand up. Tears dried, he continued waddling along in his snowsuit, dilly-dallying until his grandpa called “come on Liam, keep up!” And I had to smile.

It wasn’t that long ago that our own toddler Liam was walking, dawdling along the path at the pond. This is the very spot where we would go skating with him, and in summers past he would enjoy the playground that now sat empty, encased in snowy ice.

I wondered what my boy was doing at that moment. Likely sleeping in (it’s a Saturday, he’s 18 and had a busy week of assignments and exams) …I told the grandpa that we have a big Liam away at school. He mentioned that to the little guy, who wasn’t too impressed.

We walked past another older gentleman sitting on the bench, facing the pond with his face toward the sun. Cody and I stopped briefly, I said hello, he said hello back… and I said the usual pleasantry about the weather. I also said that it was nice to be back out again – and if it weren’t for my dog I would be at home with Netflix all day. He threw his head back and laughed. What a nice laugh.

As I said goodbye and we headed to the car, I got to thinking about stories, wondering briefly what the stories of these men were.

During my i chat earlier with the DH ( we have these almost twice daily now that he’s overseas… ), I asked whether people seemed to wonder about his story. Being a Caucasian in China — he said not really. I suppose it’s so cosmopolitan there that a random white guy on his own doesn’t spark any curiosity. He looks rather German and apparently there are tons of them there. Maybe it was just a boring question. Maybe I’m just so nosy and like to make stories up about people I see, situations that I think I am stumbling upon. I know he’s just stressed about where to get a haircut, so perhaps that’s why the thread went nowhere.

Then I got thinking about my own story, where I am in it, and where I go from here.