Today I started running —
For my life.
It’s a good thing and it’s good for me.
See how much fun I am having!
The day is amazing though still brown and I don’t detect a single bud.
I walk briskly swinging my arms like a mental patient because — well, the upper arms just can’t get enough of this motion — and yes, I’m too old to care what people think of me. Well — my walking, that is.
When I hit the lake, I begin to run. For encouragement and because it makes me feel like a 10th grader who’s never been kissed, I chose to blast “Build me up Buttercup” through my green nano. Very sassy —
I run for about 2 miles — I think — before I must walk for a little bit. Next time, I will go further — past the dog park at least, I tell myself.
I pick up the pace again, less than half way through “The Chain,” and it’s not long before I come upon a cluster of three women crowded together on the path—-
All on their knees — huddled over something of interest, I assume. Perhaps a wounded bird?
I veer right, leaving the path —
And just as I’m about to clear the mass, a little wiener dog darts out in front of me —
Like a tiny cake jumper!
My reflexes — which passed with flying colors in the doctor’s office this morning —- send my sneakers through the air, avoiding collision with beast and/or chain entanglement.
I live to run another day.
JULIE ANN STEVENS 