Every morning I take my mom for a walk. We walk all the way over to the creek. It’s a long way but I don’t ever get tired. That’s because I’m a big girl and I’m strong.
We walk the same way every day. That sounds boring. But it’s not. Mom tells me to look for something different every day. She’s right. There is something different to see every day. Moms are always right. Aren’t they? Well, most of the time anyway.
Some days I hear the crows. The robins and bluebirds and cardinals and sparrows sing for us too. And the roosters. They live far away with a farmer on the other side of the corn stalks. I hold my head up and move it around to listen to the crickets chirping and the wind blowing through the fields. Every day there’s a new flower to sniff, or the grass is taller, or the sun plays with new shadows. Every day is a new adventure.
Some days I have to protect Mom from the big dogs. She calls them deer. There’s a really big dog that barks at us sometimes. He’s a doggie-man. Mom calls him a Doberman. She always says hello to him. I pretend he’s not there. I keep walking.
Sometimes we see a car. They’re kind of scary. One day we saw two. I walk really close to Mom when we see a car. I have to protect her. Sometimes we even see a great big truck. They’re really, really scary. That’s ‘cause they’re so noisy. I hear them coming a long time before we see them. Sometimes we have to get in the grass. The trucks aren’t allowed to drive off the road, so I keep Mom safe in the grass.
I walk really close to Mom when we’re on the main road. I know it’s the main road because it has white and yellow stripes on it. We walk on the white ones along the side. The creek road doesn’t have any stripes. I like to walk close to Mom anyway. After all, I am her protector.
On the way home, I don’t walk as close to Mom. I walk way out in front of her. That’s ‘cause she sends her shadow ahead of her. And I have to keep her shadow from getting too far ahead of us.
Mom takes off my leash when we get back to our lane. She tells me she’s safe now so can run ahead. I always pick up my leash and run faster than Mom. All the way to the house.