Calling “Cadence”

This past week has been one of the busiest in months – my husband and I are new homeowners, and are trying to move from the old house to our new home!  Combine the move with a loss of my phone’s “hard drive,” and I all but disappeared from the face of the earth.

But, I now have a new phone!  

And, at 0545, a sleeping family.  

So, I figured I would write about a quick “precious moment” in the midst of business.

Yesterday afternoon, as we made our way through the military installation with another load of belongings, we stopped our car to allow a formation of soldiers to cross the street.  

Like any good 4 year old, earlier in the day, my son made a (successful) play for a Chase dog from Paw Patrol.  He and Chase were safely ensconced in the back seat while we watched the soldiers cross the street. 

I have always loved hearing cadence called.  When I noticed the soldiers were calling cadence, I rolled down the windows and asked my son if he could hear them calling cadence.

Me:  Do you hear that?  They are calling cadence.

M:  Where is Cadence?

Me:  Cadence is what they are calling – it’s what they are saying.

M:  Who is Cadence?  Where is Cadence hiding?

Me:  No, cadence isn’t anyone – it is what you say so everyone is on the same step.

M:  Is Cadence a human like me, or is Cadence an animal like Chase?

Me: No, no, no – it’s neither a human nor an animal, although the name Cadence was once popular…  

[Edited conversation to exclude a tangent]

Me (continued):  Cadence is what we say when we want everyone walking on the same step.  It’s like singing a song, so everyone puts their left foot down together at the same time, and then everyone puts their right foot down together at the same time.  So, we could call cadence and you would know when I put my left foot down, you would put your left foot down.  It makes everyone walk at the same time, in a straight line.

…A brief moment of silence…

M:  It is faster to run than it is to walk.

Me:  You are correct!  And, you can call cadence – sing the special songs – to run, too!

*End of Conversation*

The entire conversation had me wondering how to describe “calling cadence,” and made me proud that I am raising the next generation of Army BRATS.  

How would you explain “calling cadence”?  And, since I was at a loss for the answer yesterday, was Cadence a “girl’s name or a boy’s name”?

I hope to be back to blogging about faith, family, and our military life journey soon!