Sneakers and Wine

March 30, 2014 Walking Feet “Walk, don’t run. Walking feet only.” It occurred to me on Friday, as I said it to a child running full sprint past me   down a hallway in one of the schools I work in, I have been repeating that phrase for more than half my life.   I laughed at the thought of that reality and that for more than 20 years most people, including myself have ignored this command.   Looking back on my life I’ve always run full speed ahead, only stopping to look back now and then to see how far I’ve come.   Sometimes only to discover, I’d only run in a great big circle. On Saturday morning, a newer friend of mine, would be waiting on a corner to run a few miles with me.   She is faster than I, so when she asked if I’d be interested in an early morning run, I did not want to pass up the opportunity to work a little harder.   When my alarm went off, if she wasn’t   waiting for me, I would’ve passed on running that morning, but we bot...

March 20, 2014 Spring has finally come and so has the warm weather and I was determined to squeeze in a run!   My day was busy and didn’t really have room for a run.   It was 8:00pm before I had a chance to get my sneakers on and although it was darker and a little colder than I would prefer, it had been the kind of day that only a few miles could fix.    I never really cared much either way about running in the dark until the early dark morning I came face to face with a fox crossing my path on his way home from the beach.   That was the first time it occurred to me that I was much safer running during daylight.   But tonight, I needed the alone time with my thoughts, the rhythm of my breath and feet on the pavement.   A quick quiet run had a way of ironing out the wrinkles of the day.    I chose a route I knew well, flat and well lit for the most part.   It wasn’t long before I came to a stretch that was dark, it was a q...

March 4, 2014     A few days ago, I left a workout and texted a friend of mine shortly after: sometimes I wonder when I finish working out if I really gave everything I had today or if I left anything on the table.   Today, I’m not wondering, I could barely lift my arms to wash my hair.   In addition to running, I usually throw on my sneakers for work.   I work at a nursing home providing OT (occupational therapy) to patients.   As I sat working with an elderly woman, she leaned towards me and said, “I need to tell you something I can’t tell anyone else. You’re the only one I can tell.   I am so afraid of dying.”      “Today, you’re not dying.   Today you’re here and you’re safe and taken care of,” I replied, trying to assure her after a brief pause while I gathered my thoughts. “But what is going to happen to me when I do die? I am so afraid of what is going to happen.” I took a few minutes to just let ...