I've made it a point this year to consistently include exercise in my routine. This includes, among other things, walking a few times per week, mostly in the woods, sometimes with Guy or a friend, other times by myself. I was out walking alone recently when it was still in the 90s at 7:00 at night. I didn't really want to go, but I made myself. I usually walk on the gravel alongside the bike path opposite the traffic so I can see people coming. I was walking and sweating, walking and sweating, half-heartedly smiling at the oncoming walkers and bike riders, measuring in my mind how much distance I still had left to go. Then I began thinking about one of this month's In Print books, Choosing Easy World. Although the topic is a little different, it reminded me that I could choose to be happy in the moment; I could make the walk easy and fun. And it was working.
I was still walking and sweating, but it was soon a lot less strenuous. I was breathing easier and was more outgoing in my greetings. I was loving seeing all the familiar plants and weeds that I'd grown up with: milkweed, Queen Anne's Lace, those pink and white things we used to call Good & Plentys, the bird and cicada calls, the play of light and shadow, I was really going with it. A stiff wind blew through the leaves and I was reminded of how much I like that part of fall when the dry leaves rustle and there's a chill in the air. I was thinking I'd have to walk earlier as by then it would be dark at that time of day. I was remembering a group of old dead oaks in another woods that to me are the epitome of Halloween and then WHAM.
I found I'd stepped into a space where the gravel was eroded by some past rain and was falling. Not stumbling. Falling, arms outstretched in the air, cell phone flying, feeling myself doing it, falling. The first thing I noticed was that my arm hurt, and while I was checking it out, I made eye contact with a guy who biked right past me. I was amazed, he watched me fall, looked right at me, and just kept going. Who does that? Anyway, other than some bumps, scrapes, and imbedded gravel, I determined I was okay and decided to keep walking.
So now it was a struggle between keeping a good attitude; let's make this walk fun and easy, and who was that guy? I was passed by an older woman in great shape, we smiled and said hi. Maybe that guy was in a hurry and afraid that if he stopped, he'd be held up for a long time. An older couple I've seen a lot passed me a few times, they go back and forth, we smiled and said hello to each other. Maybe that guy, who was obviously from a different culture than me, felt funny about stopping or didn't see me as his responsibility. I was tickled by a woman with a dog in a basket on the back of her bike. Her preteen daughter, riding behind her, caught my eye and we both laughed. Maybe we're all just raising men to be jerks now, maybe he'll come riding the other way and I can give him a mean look. Saw the older woman in great shape again and we gave each other a "we're still at it, it's still hot" gesture. Maybe he's on his way to see his wife in the hospital with their new baby. Saw a collapsed blue mylar Happy Birthday balloon, wondered if the party had been a good one.
