You can't run from your problems!

Chris told me this is sometimes what his Dad would jokingly shout as they passed people running on the side of the road. And now, everytime I go for a jog, I think of that and smile. Running is so weird, ya know? Yes, it is true. You can't run from your troubles. But running is almost like running right over them. It gives me a chance to think in rhythm. It is a chance for my mind and body to talk, nicely, to each other. (Usually one is screaming chocolate while the other is berating the one screaming for chocolate.)
I get a chance to sing in my head, take really deep breaths (something I forget to do during a busy day at work), be surrounded by nature (when I am not on the god-forsaken treadmill) and commune with God. I was reading an article in the latest Runner's World magazine that talked about the same thing. For most avid runners (a status I am working on), running is a part of the spiritual connection to God, Yahweh, Allah, whatever name you call the Creator, the Light. I love it. Everytime I am running, I think "How could I avoid this? How can I NOT run everyday" but it is true. There are days when I avoid running like the plague. It's the getting dressed and smashing my chest together in those awful sports bra. It's the getting the blood pumping and the legs moving when they want to be propped up and massaged (really, the girls like the attention). It's the...it's the...work of it. But then when I do it, I love it. I vow to never eat sugar again, never to sneak in that one cigarette a week, never to avoid running again. I talk to God and tell her all my worries, my hopes, my fears...

Plus, I want to lose about twenty pounds before the new year. I tell Her that too.

This holiday season is going to be crazy. I won't be making as many gifts this year as I normally do (collective cheers from family members who are tired of getting scarves for xmas presents). I will be working...a lot...and it is going to be crazy in the store...all the time. Also, we have a holiday blackout time where we can't ask off for certain days, like the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas eve. So, this year's usual holiday visits will also be different, which will be strange.

So, if you don't hear from me, it's because we lost our phone. But also because I am working. A lot.

Peace,
michelle