My older daughter—the Chief Negotiator of the family—hit me with the question the moment we cleared the park gates: “Are we taking the shortcut today?”
Normally, I crumble. I’m a sucker for efficiency, and the “express lane” wins every time. But on this particular day, the sun was sparkling, the air felt crisp, and I heard a rogue voice in my head say, “Nope. Long way, kids.”
They sighed, I smiled, and off we went, resigned to the scenic route… until we hit a gold mine.
It wasn’t a crackle. It wasn’t a crunch. It was a definitive, deeply satisfying, loud CRISP! My youngest had delivered a perfect stomp onto a piece of dried fruit. She actually stopped dead in her tracks. “Wow, Mum!” she yelled, wide-eyed. “That felt so satisfying!”
The walk immediately transformed. The long way home was no longer a path—it was a full-sensory, acoustic adventure. We had accidentally become sound scientists on a secret mission.
Our goal? To find the most ridiculously satisfying sounds our feet could make.
Dry leaves gave a pathetic, whispery shhh. Walnuts delivered a sharp, violent POP! Miniature wrappers gave a delicate, shifty crinkle. Gravel provided a scratchy, rhythmic samba. We went from walking to hopping, prioritizing texture over speed. We tested rhythms: hop, hop, then a coordinated, glorious SQUISH!
We were totally submerged, laughing hysterically, transforming a boring pavement into a chaotic, joyous percussion section. I know we looked completely ridiculous—three humans fully committed to embodying the playful, simple life of highly contented, noise-obsessed frogs.
We spend so much time running for the shortcuts, optimizing our day to save three minutes, that we completely miss the random, free-of-charge joy waiting under our sneakers. That day, giving up a few minutes of efficiency gifted us a ridiculous, memorable game. The long way home is paved with squishes, pops, and the happy knowledge that the best fun happens when you stop planning and start hopping.
Mindful Miles 
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