75. It’s a Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood

After ending an engagement, Maggie moved into a new neighborhood that was perfect for taking her dog on long walks. Those walks helped her transition into the next chapter of her life. 

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Nora:  I’m Nora McInerny. This is, it’s going to be okay. And this is a message from Maggie.

Voicemail sound

Maggie: I moved to my new neighborhood almost three years ago in the height of the latest pandemic. It has lots of sidewalks, grassy front yards, and even a pedestrian bridge. It’s the perfect neighborhood to walk a dog in. When I moved here, my job moved to work from home as almost the rest of the world did, and in doing so, I started a new routine.

By walking my dog Kirby for two long walks each day, once in the morning before I clocked in for work and during my lunch break. It was a new routine for Kirby too, as in the before times we would only. Do one long walk in the early evening, usually when I got home from work, but the two walks would help me get to know my new neighborhood better and what better way to get to know it, if not by walking around and exploring it every day.

As the frequency of walking Kirby in the neighborhood increased. So did the frequency of seeing the same neighbors day in and day out. And subsequently it happened to be the same dogs as well. There was Bruno. Mochi, Lyle, Libby Jubilee, Wrigley Lovey, freedom King, cricket and Jules. There were some dogs we saw and heard but never met.

There were some neighbors we saw and heard, but never met. 

The reason why I moved to this neighborhood was because of a broken engagement, and if I hadn’t have followed, followed through this plan, I wouldn’t be living in this neighborhood or even this state, but by seeing these dogs and their humans help me connect to this neighborhood like I hadn’t done with the neighborhoods in the past, this place had helped me heal and helped me gain a greater perspective all by walking my dog and connecting with my neighbors.

So yeah, as far as I can tell, it’s going to be okay.

Nora: As far as I can tell. I agree with you Maggie. So thank you, Maggie, Kirby, Bruno, mochi, Liah, all the other friends, dog and otherwise that help us make a move we didn’t want to make into something. Okay. If you are on a walk today, look up from your phone or in my case, down from your bird watching. Let your dog sniff a but or two.

If you’re driving a motorcycle, could you not do it so loudly through my neighborhood? Thank you. Say hello to the person who crosses your path, even if they don’t say hello back. And even if they’re revving their motorcycle so loud when everyone can tell through a cinder block wall that you’re recording a podcast in your closet.

Come on. Okay. We all need a hello even motorcycle guy. Him, especially possibly. We need each other’s hellos. We need each other’s smiles. And if you are starting over, if you are lonely, go for a walk and see who crosses your path. I’m Nora McInerny and this has been, it’s going to be okay. The, it is different every day for everyone.

And we love hearing your things. We love sharing your things. You can call and leave as a voicemail at 6 1 2 5 6 8 4 4 4 1. You can record a voice memo and attach it to an email ig tbo feelings and.co. Or you can just tap out an email and I’ll read it out loud if that is more comfortable for you. It’s going to be Okay, is a production of Feelings and Co.

You can find all of our shows and our [email protected]. Our team is Marcel Mabu. Myself, Jordan Turgeon. Claire McInerny. Megan Palmer. Our theme music is by Secret Audio, and this was, as you know, recorded in my closet.