A Gentle Reminder

A few weeks ago I was dashing out of the house to go for a run before we took Charlie for her evening walk. It seems that whenever I am doing anything on my own these days I try to do it at warp speed except perhaps my actual run...As someone remarked the other day. " Good to see you running again, but it must be tough getting back into it. You used to fly around here like a gazelle..." I notice they never finished the end of the sentence the implication being I now lumber around like a buffalo...

As I was running out of the house to start my run, an older gentlemen that we often pass on our evening walks stopped to talk to me just as I was about to get going. Pressed for time and anxious to start my run I was very annoyed that he wanted to strike up a conversation, but my southern upbringing kicked in and I smiled and told myself to be polite. We chatted for a few minutes about the weather and other mundane things and then he told me his kids were grown, his wife was gone and his grand children were in other countries. He then said something which broke my heart. He was lonely. Everyone was gone and he now walked the roads of lance aux epines alone.

John and I have always walked or run in the evenings. Since we began our relationship its our time to reconnect with one another and tell each other about our days without the distractions of phones, computers, tv etc...Its our thing and, its what keeps us healthy emotionally and physically as a couple. We first started running in Zambia and we would run through the village picking up children along the way. By the end of the run we had 30 kids running with us screaming "mizungu, mizungu" (translation white person). They annoyingly would be turning cartwheels and running barefoot as John and I panted towards the finish line. Nevertheless we continued to plod along as these children embarrassingly ran circles around us.

We have continued our walks/runs and they have been one of the constants in our nomadic and ever changing life the past four years. Our twosome has now become a threesome and we walk and talk with Charlie in tow much like we did before. Though some things are different, we can no longer run together so we go in shifts, our eyes are glued on the baby, we don't occasionally hold hands anymore (someone has to push that massive stroller around) and both of us are often so tired or preoccupied that conversation doesn't always flow like it used to. We are usually hurried and frazzled and as 5-7 from what I am told is the universal witching hour for babies we know that at the end of the walk our peaceful little angel has it in her to turn on us, and become a fussing banshee.


My heart broke a little bit for the lonely old man but, I'm glad we had that encounter because it reminded me to slow down. It goes so fast. Some days all I want is five minutes to myself but one day soon all I'll have too many minutes to myself.  Some day I may walk alone with no worries or hurries just memories and, I know I'll wish I could do it all over again.