The Things We Lose

(Pre-Script: This post meant to be read as the song, "Uncharted," #39 on the playlist, plays in the background. Go down to the playlist, click on that song, then come back and resume reading. I'll wait...)(...still waiting...)

Today, I ran outside, not on the treadmill, and I remembered some things. Mainly that when you run outside, you feel the rotation of the planet, so it's like the earth is one huge treadmill. Hop on wherever, whenever. I remembered that I run because I love to run. I run for the simple joy of feeling like I am alive and flying. Everything else is just fringe benefits. Children know this, and run hard and fast and don't care if they get grass stained or dirt smeared. At least when I was a kid, I didn't care about those things- 'cause I knew my mother has stain remover spray.

And then there was the time when I was playing tackle football after dinner with my brothers. I was crouched and determined, and when I heard "hut hut hike!" I blasted out of there like a rocket...directly full speed ahead into my oldest brother's forehead. Apparently he had also been crouched, ready, and determined. Our parents and other brothers watched as the bumps Mike's and my forehead rose and grew right before their eyes. Mike was upset at his injury; he couldn't believe I would just run straight into his head like that. But those things did not really bother me at all. What really bothered me was that my forehead bump was not as big as Mike's...

...'cause if you're gonna get an injury...

The things we tend to lose as we grow up are some of the most important things: Keys, wallets, bone density, and the tendency to take off running at top speed for no apparent reason. I'm determined never to lose that; only I know what I'm running from, and I'd like to keep it that way.

-XOXO,