I've started out almost every day the last couple of weeks by walking the 3 mile loop from my house into town. I've been bright eyed and bushy tailed almost every morning at the ungodly hour of 7:30 so I figured I'd start my day off with a refreshing, invigorating walk. The last couple of mornings have felt more like the beginning of fall than the beginning of summer which is my favorite! It brings back memories of new school years and fresh apples.
The morning that they had predicted the awful weather that wreaked havoc on my hometown was humid and overcast and about halfway through my walk I heard the distant rumble of thunder and looking up, saw the ominous grey storm clouds brewing overhead. I quickened my pace but couldn't out walk the impending rainfall that soon followed. Big, fat, alligator tears fell from the sky, quickly soaking through my shirt to my sports bra. I considered taking shelter under a tree until the rain passed and I was brought back to a similar event some 20 years ago from my childhood.
I was walking home from school in 1st grade (we lived less than a mile away) when the thunderstorm started. I hated thunderstorms when I was little! They scared the hell out of me! Or anything that might resemble a thunderstorm, like the garbage truck outside my bedroom window picking up the dumpster and emptying it with loud clanging shakes while it was up in the air on it's steel arms. I found a tree on the corner and stood there, crying, hysterical while I watched jagged lightening pierce the sky. A few minuted later, a kind lady who must have worked at the funeral home across the street came out and called to me. I didn't know who she was, but she was an older, motherly figure and I would take what I could get at that point.
I sat with her on the steps, under the awning, while she calmed me down and I watched kids walking home through the rain, seemingly oblivious to the storm happening around them. Then I saw my neighbor, thanked the woman, leaped down the stairs and ran the rest of the way home.
I didn't do any of those things this time, just kept on walking, embracing the rain, the smell of it, the quiet pleasure I got at knowing that I was getting to enjoy this little act of nature before most people were even getting out of bed. The storm didn't last long but the rain was enough to cool me down from my sweaty walk and I felt refreshed and energized after. Not once did I ever think to run home to take shelter A)because I don't run if I don't absolutely have to and B) I quite enjoy the rain.
This morning on my walk, I came across two things of note. First, as I was coming around the corner of one street, there was a car stopped in the middle of the road, honking it's horn in front of a house. I just assumed that they were picking someone up for school or work. But the car kept honking, insistently, other cars starting to back up behind it. Then a woman emerged from her car, looked at me and started to say something I couldn't make out because I had my headphones in. As I got closer, I saw that there was a squirrel, just sitting in the middle of the road. She walked over to him and he didn't move. She gently nudged him with the toe of her shoe and he finally scampered over to the sidewalk. I stood, watching and she turned to me and said "I think he got nicked by a car or something." She drove away and I stood to watch what the little guy would do. He was still.
I couldn't just walk away without checking to make sure he was ok, so I crossed the road, went right up to him and knelt beside him, talking softly to him. He was breathing and he was definitely shaken and I think the woman's assessment had been right. When I looked a little closer, I noticed a spot of blood coming out of his nose. Then he darted away into the bushes. Poor little guy, I thought to myself.
The other thing I saw this morning left me with mixed emotions. A woman was walking with her son and they parted ways at a corner and went off in opposite directions. The boy looked to be about 9 or 10 and I can imagine that he allowed his mother to walk with him only so far before the school so that his friends might not see him with his "mommy." That's my interpretation of it anyway. So I was walking behind this woman for a while and I noticed she was smoking a cigarette. Then, as I was closing the gap with my power walking, I saw her flick her still burning cigarette into the street. The. Street. Still. Burning. Seriously?
Immediately, my mind flew to "trailer trash" and I really wanted to say something to her. As I blew by her, fully prepared to give her a scornful eye and disapproving shake of my head, she turned and looked and me and I was surprised. She had a kind face and I think she may have smiled at me. I only managed a wince that could have been interpreted as me squinting from the sun hitting my eyes. I really don't know what I was expecting to see when I saw her face. Someone haggard and hard, too much makeup, face weathered by stress and poor health habits. But, no. She was young, with a soft face. I felt bad almost instantly for being so judgemental and stereotypical.
So that's my story for today! Sorry it was so long! :-) And yes, this is a repost from my "fat" blog! :-)
The morning that they had predicted the awful weather that wreaked havoc on my hometown was humid and overcast and about halfway through my walk I heard the distant rumble of thunder and looking up, saw the ominous grey storm clouds brewing overhead. I quickened my pace but couldn't out walk the impending rainfall that soon followed. Big, fat, alligator tears fell from the sky, quickly soaking through my shirt to my sports bra. I considered taking shelter under a tree until the rain passed and I was brought back to a similar event some 20 years ago from my childhood.
I was walking home from school in 1st grade (we lived less than a mile away) when the thunderstorm started. I hated thunderstorms when I was little! They scared the hell out of me! Or anything that might resemble a thunderstorm, like the garbage truck outside my bedroom window picking up the dumpster and emptying it with loud clanging shakes while it was up in the air on it's steel arms. I found a tree on the corner and stood there, crying, hysterical while I watched jagged lightening pierce the sky. A few minuted later, a kind lady who must have worked at the funeral home across the street came out and called to me. I didn't know who she was, but she was an older, motherly figure and I would take what I could get at that point.
I sat with her on the steps, under the awning, while she calmed me down and I watched kids walking home through the rain, seemingly oblivious to the storm happening around them. Then I saw my neighbor, thanked the woman, leaped down the stairs and ran the rest of the way home.
I didn't do any of those things this time, just kept on walking, embracing the rain, the smell of it, the quiet pleasure I got at knowing that I was getting to enjoy this little act of nature before most people were even getting out of bed. The storm didn't last long but the rain was enough to cool me down from my sweaty walk and I felt refreshed and energized after. Not once did I ever think to run home to take shelter A)because I don't run if I don't absolutely have to and B) I quite enjoy the rain.
This morning on my walk, I came across two things of note. First, as I was coming around the corner of one street, there was a car stopped in the middle of the road, honking it's horn in front of a house. I just assumed that they were picking someone up for school or work. But the car kept honking, insistently, other cars starting to back up behind it. Then a woman emerged from her car, looked at me and started to say something I couldn't make out because I had my headphones in. As I got closer, I saw that there was a squirrel, just sitting in the middle of the road. She walked over to him and he didn't move. She gently nudged him with the toe of her shoe and he finally scampered over to the sidewalk. I stood, watching and she turned to me and said "I think he got nicked by a car or something." She drove away and I stood to watch what the little guy would do. He was still.
I couldn't just walk away without checking to make sure he was ok, so I crossed the road, went right up to him and knelt beside him, talking softly to him. He was breathing and he was definitely shaken and I think the woman's assessment had been right. When I looked a little closer, I noticed a spot of blood coming out of his nose. Then he darted away into the bushes. Poor little guy, I thought to myself.
The other thing I saw this morning left me with mixed emotions. A woman was walking with her son and they parted ways at a corner and went off in opposite directions. The boy looked to be about 9 or 10 and I can imagine that he allowed his mother to walk with him only so far before the school so that his friends might not see him with his "mommy." That's my interpretation of it anyway. So I was walking behind this woman for a while and I noticed she was smoking a cigarette. Then, as I was closing the gap with my power walking, I saw her flick her still burning cigarette into the street. The. Street. Still. Burning. Seriously?
Immediately, my mind flew to "trailer trash" and I really wanted to say something to her. As I blew by her, fully prepared to give her a scornful eye and disapproving shake of my head, she turned and looked and me and I was surprised. She had a kind face and I think she may have smiled at me. I only managed a wince that could have been interpreted as me squinting from the sun hitting my eyes. I really don't know what I was expecting to see when I saw her face. Someone haggard and hard, too much makeup, face weathered by stress and poor health habits. But, no. She was young, with a soft face. I felt bad almost instantly for being so judgemental and stereotypical.
So that's my story for today! Sorry it was so long! :-) And yes, this is a repost from my "fat" blog! :-)
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