My Walk

Gratuitous vintage sewing pattern only tangentially related to the following post.

I went out to walk the 3-mile loop, feeling all virtuous and hardy.  It had been raining, but stopped and I decided that even if it started raining again, it would cool me off and feel great, and it certainly wouldn't kill me.
So, off I went, with a bounce in my step, and a song in my heart.  It felt good to be out again; I probably haven't been out since June or early July.  I kept finding more important things to do.  But I'm feeling re-motivated, since I've been dreaming on and on about clothes, and thinking about how much nicer they'd look on me if I could trim a few inches from my waistline (say 10 or 12....), and how much better I'd feel if I could bend over to paint my toenails without holding my breath (as if the polish fumes weren't enough to make me feel woozy-headed!).
Monday (despite the holiday) is trash collection day on Old Pool Road, and a neighbor said hello from the end of his driveway, when he came to collect his empty bins.  "I hope the rain holds off for my walk," I said, as the weather is perfect standby for light pleasantries for such a chance social encounter.  He smiled, and looked up, and said, "Yeah, mebbe about 10 minutes."  On my way I went, picking up acorns, listening to the runoff of little streams, and admiring another neighbor's beagle.
10 minutes later, I was on the campus at UNE, and yup, a light rain started.  At this point, I am  3/4 of a mile from home, if I turn back, I'll be good for a mile and a half today.  No, I decide, it feels good, and it won't kill me; after all I'm a weather-hardy New Englander!
Now, I had prepared for the sun to break through.  I am seriously fair-skinned, have melanoma in a first-degree relative, and am
staunchly opposed to aging.  Naturally I wear sunscreen everyday.  Today, as I trudged along, pressing on uphill, and the rain fell harder and harder, the sunscreen began to run into my eyes.  Ouch!  I tried to wipe away as much as I could with a tissue, which didn't seem to help much; I kept going, now feeling drenched and stupid, and glad I hadn't worn any mascara, and wishing I didn't have almost 2 miles to go.
Then, like a princess in a fairy tale, along came my Knight in Shining Armor.  DH felt sorry for me, and came to pick me up!  Okay, so today's walk was a mile and a quarter -- it's a start, and as Scarlett would say, "Tomorrow is another day!"