The other night, I had the unusual experience of walking to my son’s school for a meeting. It would be good exercise without being a chore, I decided.

“One less car on the street. Check!” said my environmentally-conscious mind.

“Walk off the holiday peppermint bark – it’s almost a mile. Check!” said my body-conscious
mind.

“It won’t take that long, maybe 25 minutes. Check!” said my time-conscious mind.

It was a quiet, peaceful night. A light snow was falling and I could hear the snow as it hit my coat. There were a few cars out – people like me going from one obligation to another or just going home for the night. It wasn’t late but it was dark. I was expecting to see more people, though, as I walked down College Avenue in Waukesha.

It wasn’t until I was too far to turn around that I started second-guessing my decision to walk alone through town. It was so quiet, almost desolate, that I began to wonder why I was the only person out walking. I also begin to wonder why I was feeling slightly nervous.

In hindsight, I realize now that it has literally been years since I walked to some location other than a park. It may even have been as long ago as my college days; after I acquired a car, no more bus or walking for me.

When the children were younger and we lived on the outskirts of Waukesha, walking was impractical and nearly impossible. All the places we went were too far away – the preschool, church, library, doctors. And so my car-centric world was determined.

As the children got older, my husband and I realized they were missing some of the things we valued about our childhood – the freedom, responsibility and control that can be gained by walking to the park with friends or walking to school or the library. And so we choose to move into the city, reversing the usual pattern of people moving out into the country.

We’ve lived in Waukesha since summer and we haven’t given up our car dependence. We walk our dogs daily but we don’t walk to the store, the library or Grandma’s house. It usually doesn’t occur to us that we could actually walk somewhere. Or if we do think of it, we’re too time-crunched to do it.

So maybe I was just out of practice walking; hence, the nervousness. Every crime story I ever read echoed through my mind as I walked the nearly-deserted streets. I reminded myself that Waukesha is a relatively safe city. Of course, my nervous little inner voice reminded me that statistics mean nothing on an individual basis.

As I passed the new dorms and walked on, across the street, I saw families seated in front of TV’s and I was reassured. People were home, just not outside. I wasn’t as alone as I felt.

My walk to school that night was an eye-opening experience and I’ve decided to do it again. Maybe I’ll take the dog, who of course loves walking and who is pretty good company, despite her penchant for chasing squirrels.

Don’t let the cold keep you inside this weekend during the Jamboree, an opportunity to experience the best of winter in Waukesha. Check out the excitement at http://www.janboree.org/. See the ice sculptures. Enjoy a show at the planetarium or the Civic Theatre. Go tobogganing. Take a trolley ride. Visit the museum. Drink some hot chocolate and enjoy city life.