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I was out for my morning bike today and noticed an older couple walking. They were both out at the same time, but they weren’t walking together – the man was walking ahead of the woman; neither was smiling, neither replied to my “Hello.”

I can’t speak to their experience, but these people reminded me of my own past when someone used to walk ahead of me.

I used to think it was a disrespect to me – but I wonder now if it was more of a disrespect to them.

They may have walked faster and gotten to the end first, but what did that matter? They always ended up there alone. I walked at my own pace, and always had someone waiting for me at the end. I wanted to walk together, but they didn’t and I see now that choice said more about them than it did about me.

I know many widowed people who would love to have another opportunity to walk with their person and I wondered this morning, if this particular elderly man, would have chosen to walk with his wife this morning if he knew it would be their last walk together. Why do we so often wait until it is too late?

I liked this reminder today. Keep walking beside my people when given the opportunity. Make moments with others an enriched experience. We don’t always have the option to walk with someone – and one day, we may turn around and find the person behind us is gone.