Ren walked away with an exasperated look on his face. It was really loud. Joanna and I turned towards each other. We were just told by one of our superiors to leave work in the middle of the day, and to go outside. It was beautiful outside. Well, yeah. We nodded, in agreement. Of course we’ll go outside.

So we went. And we walked. We did laps around the building, maybe 8 to 10 of them. At 5’3” and with Joanna at 5’5” we noted how many steps we must have taken due to our short strides. We discussed our excitement for Walking, Part 2 to begin.

State and Federal Communications, Inc. was in the middle of its health initiative: Walking, Part 1. The staff is divided into three teams and provided with a pedometer. The team with the most steps wins. There is also a chart that translates other physical activities into steps, so those who do the rowing machine at the gym, for example, still get credit for being active. Signs of encouragement are posted all over the office: Keep on Walking, they remind us. On day one we were told to watch out for Team Myra: Myra Texas Walkers. They were in the lead. Apparently, Myra runs marathons with the same ease that most run through the drive thru. I can’t compete with that sort of mastery, I thought. But I did just run my first 5K. And with my little legs? They might finally be worth something.

Tiny steps, I said. For the win.