I have not moved an inch on my virtual pilgrimage since the last time I wrote on Saturday. So, I am still 1047 miles from where I started at the beginning of the year. It is kind of cool that that is 47 miles further than I was at this time last year (as mentioned before). I decided to take two days off as I didn't want to get up super early to run on the day we drove from Baltimore to Wolfeboro, NH (it took us nearly 11 hours including a stop for lunch, a stop for gas, a stop to orient ourselves near the end, and some traffic tie ups), and I decided that an extra day of getting 7 hours of sleep would be better for me than getting up really early. I still can get 35 miles during the rest of this week pretty eaisly.
So, today, other than mentioning the fact that I did not run, I am not going to talk about running. Today's dots to connect were not steps on the running path. Today's dots, instead, were mostly walking steps. Today instead of running with someone I had been training with for several years (no matter who I run with it is usually someone I've known for a while now) but instead, my wife of 22 years. And the nourishment of the soul--just enjoying presence.
Today was the first day of vacation without having to drive. We began the day with a relatively late start. We went to the office of where we are staying fr a donut and some coffee and OJ. Then, we went to the grocery store. A big deal? No. Romantic? Not particularly. But something we did together that we don't usually do together. Something that we had to make decisions together. How did we want to plan breakfast? How many dinners? What did we want to have? (Turned out we bought groceries for two dinners so far--tacos and spaghetti.) How about lunches? What about beverages? Did we want to use bottled water? How about some energy bars? What about wines to try? (A sweet Malbec and a local Reisling.)
Then we came back. Hung out a bit. Made reservations for the 4th of July dinner dance and cruise on the lake. Then I made lunch with her help (again, something we don't often do and we did it in the little kithcen in our studio sized condo unit). The lunch was simple--organic peanut butter and unfiltered honey sandwiches on wheat.
Next we went into town. Left a little after 1. Got back just past 5. The walk from the Windrifter to the edge of "downtown" Wolfeboro is almost exactly a mile. We went in almost every little store in the downtown area. Gift stores. Consignment store. A store that provided temporary henna tattoos (neither got one) where Sherry bought headbands. A store with spiritual books--like several that talk about the important of being present in life). Looked at swimsuits. Looked at beer. Looked at cheese. Bought a maple sugar mead. After several hours of walking and looking we bought less than 1/4 pound of fudge and split it. Then we stopped on the way back and bought cold beverages. Hours of walking together. Being together. Buying just one or two things. Talking to each other. Talking to sales people and store owners. It was not so crowded that we ever felt rushed. It was possible to have a conversation with almost every one. And we coudl both particiapte in the conversation.
When we got back, we chilled with email for a bit and then I cooked tacos and served the Malbec with dinner. After dinner we went for ice cream. Small ice cream meant quite a lot of food. Finally, we headed to Carry Beach and sat on the edge until the sun was all the way down.
Spending an entire day together at an easy pace--not rushing anywhere--was a gift. It is a gift we get all too rarely. Do we have to go nearly 600 miles to get it? I hope not in the future. Would having more such days be helpful? You bet.
But I will take every one and count it as something special forever.
So, today, other than mentioning the fact that I did not run, I am not going to talk about running. Today's dots to connect were not steps on the running path. Today's dots, instead, were mostly walking steps. Today instead of running with someone I had been training with for several years (no matter who I run with it is usually someone I've known for a while now) but instead, my wife of 22 years. And the nourishment of the soul--just enjoying presence.
Today was the first day of vacation without having to drive. We began the day with a relatively late start. We went to the office of where we are staying fr a donut and some coffee and OJ. Then, we went to the grocery store. A big deal? No. Romantic? Not particularly. But something we did together that we don't usually do together. Something that we had to make decisions together. How did we want to plan breakfast? How many dinners? What did we want to have? (Turned out we bought groceries for two dinners so far--tacos and spaghetti.) How about lunches? What about beverages? Did we want to use bottled water? How about some energy bars? What about wines to try? (A sweet Malbec and a local Reisling.)
Then we came back. Hung out a bit. Made reservations for the 4th of July dinner dance and cruise on the lake. Then I made lunch with her help (again, something we don't often do and we did it in the little kithcen in our studio sized condo unit). The lunch was simple--organic peanut butter and unfiltered honey sandwiches on wheat.
Next we went into town. Left a little after 1. Got back just past 5. The walk from the Windrifter to the edge of "downtown" Wolfeboro is almost exactly a mile. We went in almost every little store in the downtown area. Gift stores. Consignment store. A store that provided temporary henna tattoos (neither got one) where Sherry bought headbands. A store with spiritual books--like several that talk about the important of being present in life). Looked at swimsuits. Looked at beer. Looked at cheese. Bought a maple sugar mead. After several hours of walking and looking we bought less than 1/4 pound of fudge and split it. Then we stopped on the way back and bought cold beverages. Hours of walking together. Being together. Buying just one or two things. Talking to each other. Talking to sales people and store owners. It was not so crowded that we ever felt rushed. It was possible to have a conversation with almost every one. And we coudl both particiapte in the conversation.
When we got back, we chilled with email for a bit and then I cooked tacos and served the Malbec with dinner. After dinner we went for ice cream. Small ice cream meant quite a lot of food. Finally, we headed to Carry Beach and sat on the edge until the sun was all the way down.
Spending an entire day together at an easy pace--not rushing anywhere--was a gift. It is a gift we get all too rarely. Do we have to go nearly 600 miles to get it? I hope not in the future. Would having more such days be helpful? You bet.
But I will take every one and count it as something special forever.
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