Word To Ponder: Peregrinate

To peregrinate is to travel or journey from place to place, especially on foot. As a transitive verb, its definition is to travel through or over; traverse.

Old fashioned, old school, and the way things were. In some cases, the way things should still be. That is what the word peregrinate got me thinking about today. Going for walks to get some fresh air and feel nature under your feet is still in fashion and an important part of one’s daily life. Doing so without the distraction of whatever one spills into their earbuds can bring the best results of a walk: a wonderful sense of calm and meditation.

But, when was the last time you walked to go somewhere, to run an errand? Or, when was the last time you had no choice but to do it on foot? Have you ever been there?

Sure, some of us live in neighborhoods where our vehicles are an option, but walk to a nearby convenience or grocery store for a few items light enough to carry back home.

My grandfather was the only boy of his family. When they all reached an age to begin learning responsibility and discipline, they were taught different roles. One of my grandpa’s roles as a boy, starting at 8 or 9 years old, was to go to the store while his dad was at work. He bought the food his mother deemed necessary for what they could afford for dinner. The lone vehicle the family had was his father's transportation for his job.

My grandpa was to get exactly what was on the list and bring back the exact change. If he dropped any of the groceries on the two mile trek back home, he would find his rear end difficult to sit on, no matter how noble his intentions. If he deviated from the list in any way, he was to walk back and rectify it. With money being tight, he had to quickly learn math to make sure the cashier made zero mistakes. When a mistake occurred, he’d have to go back and make it right, even if he got back more money than he should have. It was a very loving but strict household that saw everyone graduate to disciplined adulthoods with high integrity.

About a year or two after doing the store errands, my grandpa got his first job to contribute to the household income. His father had a recent handicap that required special assembly to his car to drive to his job, which sapped what little money they had saved up. His father could still do his job despite the handicap, and it was the same meager pay.

My grandpa’s first job was picking weeds and planting crops for one of the farmers who had some land all over the city. He walked about four miles one way to work a 10 hour shift for ten cents and hour. Once in a while, when she deemed it appropriate, his mom gave him a nickel to keep. His pride swelled each and every time he earned money for his family and himself.

My grandpa grew up to become one of the hardest working people I ever knew. He was a wonderful man who never let anything get in the way of providing for his family. Working up to four jobs at once to feed and shelter them was only part of it, he was also providing an example to live up to. The same could be said for his wife, my grandma.

She and her sisters walked everywhere as kids, including their first jobs. Just like her future husband, she picked weeds and planted crops in the fields of the farmers in the rural area they lived. In her later years, even before she recently died, she was still able to proudly identify the specific fields and what her and her sisters planted. Their salaries were for pennies an hour and also went towards the tight household finances.

My grandparents were an excellent couple who had four great people that became positive contributors to my life and the world. My mom and her siblings have and continue to be the best versions of themselves based on the examples their parents showed.

The sense of hard work and value of a dollar was ingrained in my grandparents very early. The fact they had to walk to run errands and to their first jobs gave them something else. If they were driven by vehicles to their jobs and to run errands, I believe their work ethic and value of a dollar would still have been there. Without the determination created by walking those miles, a sense of humility and a desire for independence would not have been so deep. Each of them grew up in large families, so walking also provided a necessary reprieve from the crowded houses they lived in.

So, what about you? What can represent peregrinating for you? The examples I gave of my grandparents were taught to them at young ages and they maintained it for the entirety of their lives and passed it down to their kids.

As we age, we never stop learning. Thus, we must keep looking for and finding what can keep us humble, hungry, and to never lose sight what the value of a dollar is and how it feels to earn something.