Go Together Life

It began with a linguistic misunderstanding.

Actually… it started a few days before that.

We were deep into pandemic lockdown, that strange chapter in our lives when everyone was working and schooling from home and desperately craving company outside their own four walls (and families… as wonderful as they are). The rules of engagement were odd but clear: no indoor meet-ups, but an outdoor walk with a decent buffer of space? Socially and medically acceptable.

Hard to believe now, when it all feels like some distant dream. Or maybe a fever dream. Or… a nightmare?

The First Meeting

Ally is an early riser. So is Sarah, a neighbor of Mandy’s. One serendipitous morning before sunrise, Sarah and Ally bumped into each other (metaphorically of course, this was the Covid Era) on a neighborhood walk. That brief hello turned into a plan to walk together the next morning: a little exercise, a little conversation, and a break from cabin fever.

Now, Ally is gregarious, fun-loving, and wonderfully direct, which, for an introvert like Sarah, was frankly a little… terrifying. So Sarah called for backup: her friend Mandy, another introvert, equally unsure about this new extroverted force of nature and her addition to the group.

There was just one catch, Mandy is not a dawn person. Ally and Sarah happily hit the trails when the clock still reads “5-something,” while Mandy prefers a civilized “after six” start. For those first few days, Mandy stayed home, which led to Ally and Sarah getting hopelessly, and repeatedly, lost on the neighborhood trails.

Enter the Beagle (and the Trail Guide)

Eventually, Mandy gave herself a pep talk, sacrificed some sleep and joined them, bleary-eyed but ready. Her secret weapon? A working knowledge of every trail in the area, thanks to her energetic, escape-artist beagle, Meggie: self-proclaimed sock-eating queen of the neighborhood dog pack.

That morning, the three set off toward Lake Fairfax, sidestepping dew-laden spiderwebs (the lead walker quickly learned the value of holding a stick out front to avoid face-first encounters). Between hills, breathless laughs, and conversation, Ally slowly became less intimidating, and Mandy started sharing stories of life in South Africa versus the U.S.

The Infamous “Netball” Incident

The chat wandered from sports their kids played, to sports in each country, to Mandy’s own athletic past. She launched into a lively account of the Netball team she’d played on in Cape Town, accent in full swing, words tumbling out at speed.

Sarah, accustomed to translating Mandy-isms after two years of friendship, followed easily. Ally, however, went quiet, her eyes wide.

Finally, after a lengthy silence and with no small amount of horror Ally blurted out, “Wait… you played a sport called nipple? Nipple?!”

The confusion unraveled in a storm of laughter. Accent plus speed had transformed “Netball” into something far more bewildering and far less p.c. Mandy slowed her speech (a little) after that to avoid any further misunderstandings though she is adamant that the issue lies with Ally’s hearing and not her annunciation. In Ally’s defense, another friend later made the same mistake on the soccer sidelines while listening to Mandy chatter on one morning. Sweet vindication for Ally.

From Misunderstanding to Adventure

And that was the spark.

From that moment, a friendship grew that has since crossed four continents and the full width of the U.S. Those early morning walks became the incubator for big ideas, wild plans, and the next great adventure. Sarah joins when she can, though her family remains unconvinced that chaos, missteps and mayhem are the best way to travel. Or maybe it’s the long hikes that they are avoiding? We’ll win them over to the dark side soon enough.

🗝 Lessons Learned from the Trail

• Always bring reinforcements — especially if your walking buddy’s energy level is set to “extrovert.”
• A local trail guide beats Google Maps every time.
• Spiderweb defense tools (i.e., a stick) are essential early-morning hiking gear.
• Accents + speed talking = comedy gold. Embrace the misunderstandings.
• Friendship is often born from shared missteps, geographic, linguistic, or otherwise.