April 2020
So, this was pretty cool...
I started my day reading about the runner's wave - just a little hand signal shared as two runners - strangers - pass each other, acknowledging each other, offering support, a little nudge to keep going.
For the most part, this pandemic thing hadn't really gotten to me. Work was affected, but I still had a job. The kids had been laid off and not in school, but they were trying to stay busy and were getting their unemployment checks. Everyone was more or less healthy by now (it was a tough winter for Joli and my parents). But every now and then, I'd click one too many news stories, or Doomscroll the wrong article or overhear someone who just didn't get it. And I'd get pulled down. My mood would sour and I'd be irritable and discontented.
That afternoon, after I finished whatever it was that I was doing to procrastinate and in such a state, I went over to Breakheart for a walk around the lower lake to try to get my head back in the game. I had my iPod going, good tunes. Nora En Pure, I think (because Nora En Pure).
About five minutes in I heard/felt a runner coming up the hill from behind. As he passed me on the left, we looked at each other and gave each other the runner's wave.
Then we looked again and realized we recognized each other. And we both stopped.
It was Ted - the first guy I met at my very first meeting. We chatted for a few minutes. He asked how my meetings were going. I told him they were going really well, adjusting to the new world, and trying on-line meetings. He was too. I told him I was coming up on four years. He said I looked great, better than I did back then, and to keep it up. We wished each other well. He went back to running.
I had to stop and reflect on what had just happened - God gives you what you need right when you need it. I finished my hike with a spring in my step.
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