Walking with Aunt Fanny

Walking with Aunt Fanny

"Mom, can you get the door?"

Grabbing a paper towel, I dried my hands. "Got it."

As I opened the front door, I saw a slightly balding, heavy-set older gentleman in a clerical collar.

"Good morning. I was talking to your husband's brother this morning and wanted to stop by and invite you to our services this Sunday. He's spoken about you all so often, I feel I know you already."

That invitation led to my friendship with Aunt Fanny. Our family had recently moved to be closer to Jim's brother, and church was the best way to make new friends so the following Sunday found us surrounded by pleasantly inquisitive, friendly people. Aunt Fanny was the first to approach us and introduce herself. She appeared to be in her sixties with perfectly coifed gray curls. She was tall, probably five or six inches more than my five-foot-two and looked to be a perfect weight for her height. Her carriage was regal, and her attire was impeccable. Although, at first she looked a bit unapproachable, her kind welcome and friendly body language overcame my natural timidity. Soon, we were the best of friends.

It wasn't long before I found out through chatting with other parishioners how Aunt Fanny kept herself in such good shape. She walked. Everyday. And as chance would have it, she always passed by the front of our development. So it was natural for me to mention how I would enjoy walking with her sometime. She was delighted to hear that, and we arranged to meet up out front the next morning at 9:00 A.M.

That evening I confided to Jim my big plans for the next morning.

"You're going walking with Aunt Fanny?" He had this unbelievable look on his face and a twinkle in his eye that soon metamorphosed into a very smirky, all-knowing grin.

"What? You think I can't keep up with a woman twice my age? I'm no slouch, you know. I walk sometimes, too."

"I didn't say a thing. Go. Have fun."

Well, I'd show him a thing or two. That night I laid out my almost brand new jogging suit and my very brand new Nikes. I began to hear a little teeny voice of self doubt about my next to nil athletic ability but I quickly shrugged it off by thinking late sixties, no way. After all, I wasn't walking with Wonder Woman.

When I stepped outside the next morning into an unusually warm November day, I thought I might be overdressed for the temperature, but proud of my outfit and pressed for time as well, I did a couple of stretches and took off at a slight jog toward the front of the development. I had measured our route in the car the night before. It was one quarter mile to the front and two and one quarter miles to our destination, a card shop where Aunt Fanny wanted to stop to buy a variety of greeting cards. That would make my round trip a total of five miles. Never having walked five miles, it didn't seem that far in the car.

When I reached the front, I could see Aunt Fanny coming around the bend in the road. As she neared me, I gave her a big smile and prepared to chat about our morning. She breezed right past me, not missing a beat. With the smile frozen on my face, I ran to catch up.

"Wow, you must be in a hurry," I said, trying to catch my breath.

"Just my normal pace. Do you need me to slow down, Honey?"

"Oh no, I'm fine." What could I say? She was twice my age.

For every step she took, I had to take one and a half or two to keep up. Supposedly, Florida is a flat state. That is not true. Several creeks run through our town, and each one has a valley and then a hill. It seemed like all the creeks converged on our route. And going down is no easier than going up. I began to feel some burning pain on the backs of my heels inside those new Nikes, but there was no way I was going to mention it. Aunt Fanny took her walking seriously, and luckily for me, did not believe in much chitchat. Whenever she did ask me something, I tried to answer in as few syllables as possible to hide my breathless condition.

When we reached the card shop, I thought now we would take a break, and I could recoup some. Aunt Fanny went through that store like a bat out of you know where.

"Have to keep moving, keep our blood flowing for our walk to do the most good." Those words were thrown back at me as she headed toward the checkout.

The cashier looked at me a little funny as I passed through, "Are you okay?" I guess my face was red. I nodded. Aunt Fanny was already out the door and didn't hear.

The walk back was no easier than the first half had been plus my heels were really stinging now, but being stubborn, I would not give in to my pain. Inside my warm jogging suit I could feel the sweat trickling down my back. I practiced some slow deep breathing I had learned from yoga and finally reached the entrance to my development, still alive, with Aunt Fanny none the wiser. I waved goodbye as she continued walking another mile to her home.

I slowed down but did not stop because I knew if I did I probably would not be able to get started again. The first thing I did when I got home was to peel off my socks after removing those brand new Nikes. Thin strips of skin hung from the backs of my heels. Some stuck to the socks and brought water to my eyes.

Resting, I thought about what had happened and what a ninny I had been to think that age alone could slow a person down. Granted, Aunt Fanny may not have been the normal sixty-eight year old, but who knows, maybe she was. I wouldn't be making those kinds of assumptions again. After today, to me, she was Wonder Woman!