SufjanJimmy-H-Brook digital art

3 thoughts:

•I love my run app

•I am a night person

•I thought to my self (for the first time since I have been here) that I will miss this when I am gone. Are you wondering what IT is?

Tonight I went for a run with my lovely encouraging British friend Get Running. She has done the couch potato -5k program with me a few times. She is always so encouraging at just the right moments. She has the loveliest accent but knows how to appreciate the silent moments during a physically challenging run~ starting from ZERO and trying to get back into shape- again! She can’t see me so while I am self conscious during my exercise routine, you know when its really hard, and I make really painful facial expressions, and I sweat A LOT, I spit and pant and groan and want to quit and she never judges me. She just tells me what kind of time I have left and how great I am doing and what we have to look forward to. She reminds me how far I have come and that always makes me feel like I can go further. It’s a great app, did I tell you I LOVE IT?!

While Get Running and I were jogging I had a MOMENT , it felt like I could keep going and going for much longer than my friend Get Running was asking of me. I looked around at the majestic mountains surrounding me, and felt so wonderfully tiny. The darkness was coming, and no one was around and I didn’t have to feel self conscious about my muffin top jiggling or the sweat dripping off my forehead. I noticed the light that was left in the sky and even though I could not see the sun, I could still see that glow in the sky that makes me feel like I am not alone. It’s such a perfect time of day to run. Yes, I’m tired at the end of the day because I am a mom and moms work soooo hard. But I AM A NIGHT PERSON. I feel more alive at night, my kids wear me out, but once they are in bed and I know that I am off work and I can peruse my own interest, I usually get re-energized. I love the description in Stargirl (by Jerry Spinelli) “I liked the feeling the moonlight gave me, as if it wasn’t the opposite of day, but its underside, its private side”.  I ran next to the little glacier fed brook and felt the cool air rise from it and heard the soft trickle sounds over my own breath and I was so glad to be there at that moment enjoying the peace and anonymity of this place.

I ran to the end of the path and turned back toward home. As I entered the main street of our village my run ended and I walked the last 5 minutes home for a cool down. I passed a few other people walking, I heard cheers from the soccer field in the distance. The bus passed me by and the lights of the butcher and the post office and the luxury furniture store glowed as the darkness set in. I felt completely safe ( low crime is a wonderful advantage of living in Switzerland), no need to look over my shoulder, I was awake and alive and felt at peace. For the first time since I arrived, I thought to my self I will miss this feeling when I am gone.

I want to remember this because I WILL MISS IT.