every year around christmastime, we have an awesome lil tradition that i love so much, i wanna repeat it at other times throughout the year. not because i'm a glutton for good things (but really, who isn't?) but because it's a fantastic opportunity to slow down and reconnect with the people that make our lives better and happier.
and really, when you can combine reconnecting with food? all the better, i say!
we send out invites to all of our friends - people that we haven't seen in years and would love to have a chance to catch up with, people that we see every day, people we see sometimes but would like to get to know better. all types of people. we pick a saturday morning in early december and tell people that if they'd like, the can swing by anytime between 8 and 1pm. that way, they can get in some visiting while at the same time being able to get some christmas shopping done too.
it's much much easier for people to just pop by for a few minutes (or a few hours!) according to their own schedules, have some breakfast and good company (cause everyone needs a lil bit of both no matter what their plans for the day hold!), have a few laughs and reminisce.
now yes, christmas is a great time to catch up, but why should it be the only time?
the next item on my to-do list: let's do another brunch, but in the sunshine of an early summer morning, out in the backyard. mm. now that's a plan.
if you really think about it, running is likely one of the strangest things that we humans do.
i can't help but think about the fact that if aliens were to be watching us from their far-away-galaxies in their super-powered telescopes that spanned light years, they'd see people leaving their house, stretching, jumping around, and then running away for no apparent reason.
"where are they running to," they'd ask. "or what are they running from?"
they'd scratch their bald alien heads in confusion when, in 45 minutes, the humans run right back into the house again. why do they take off as if the house is on fire, or like they've got someone to save from drowning? and then - just as quickly as it all starts off, it ends. they resume life as if nothing out of the ordinary ever happened. they'd ask themselves in their alien language (or maybe they use telekinesis, who knows), what the point was.
the answer is that, to the outsider, there is no real point outside of fitness. we just run. who does that? did any ancient egyptians jog? i assume the ancient greeks must have, considering how they invented the olympics and all that.. but really, at what point did western culture decide that running around in circles was a great form of exercise?
don't get me wrong - it's gotta be one of the most convenient ways to get yourself in shape. you don't need anything to run; just a pair or running shoes, really. but then, if you're really hardcore i suppose you wouldn't even need that. just a pair of willing legs and feet that will move you from one place to the next and back again. i love that kind of simplicity in a workout.
i also love the fact that you can get all sorts of cool running gear; you see those hardcore runners in all types of weather, wearing all kinds of apparel that's sleek and awesome; that perfectly fitting zippy, with water bottles or hand weights or whatever suits their fancy. and that ipod nano setup with nike running shoes? suh-weet. it doesnt get much better, my friend. you can join the local running club and go for group runs - i always see them stretching and chatting and cooling down in the parking lot as i'm on my way home from work. i love that it can be a lil bit of a social thing, but i'd likely just end up running alone. just me and my shoes hitting the pavement.
it's just a shame, then, that someone who loves the idea of running as much as i do would hate the actual activity. i feel messy and sloppy and uncoordinated and often like my lungs are going to explode. i'd love to get past that part and get to the exhilarating freedom that is shangri-la for runners, except for the fact that i just cant get over that feeling like i'm gonna toss my breakfast all over lawn.
i'm planning on making that transition from running poser to running enthusiast. it's gonna happen this summer, and it's gonna start out slow. i have the running shoes, the lululemon pants, my ipod with arm band, and a coordinating hoodie to get me started. i think i'm pretty much 3/4 of the way there, no? (ha - kidding!)
here i go, one foot in front of the other.
(and in the meanwhile, any of you runners out there - please feel free to give me any tips to help get me to the good part!)
