I don't know how or why our son decided to walk to my husband's office—but he did. Well, we live in Palo Alto, and my husband works in Sunnyvale—which is about 9.5 miles on the 101.
Our son seems to have two ways about him—on or off, meaning that it's his idea and he'll do it, or the door is completely shut, and there is no key that will unlock it. So when he decides on something, we feel it's our job as parents to "jump," in case the project/event is something that captivates him.
Gratefully, my husband took on this one. Plus, we were thinking, "He's only 5½ years old—how far can he go?"
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They left the house at 6:45 on Sunday morning (with water bottles and backpack), and for the rest of the day, I received text updates on their location, while I waited for the call to "come pick us up."
In the late morning, having nothing to do, I called my parents to let them in on the excitement of a 5½ year old—and his goal setting. But, it turns out that they already knew, because they were getting some of the texts also. So we shared in the amazement of it and how, with acts like these, he could be ready to walk part of the Compostela in Spain next year (a family trip we are eager to make).
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After lunch, I could tell from the texts that they were getting tired. I let them know that I would be waiting to pick them up at the end (to cheer them on). And at 2 p.m., I headed south to wait for them. At 3 p.m., I walked back down the route I knew they would take.
Sure enough, there they were, stumping along and making their way along the last couple of blocks.
Turns out that their route was probably a little more than the 11.5 miles.
Pretty amazing—and in crocs, too.
