Why I Run: To Refocus

It's easy for me to get caught up in the nitty gritty details of my life.  Organizing the family calendar.  Sorting dozens of loads of laundry.  Remembering to send the blue show and tell item to school.  Preparing meals that are both reasonably healthy and reasonably likely to be eaten by my children.  Such details are obviously important and necessary to the functioning of our household, but when my life feels consumed by nothing but minutiae, I need a chance to step back and see the larger picture.

Running provides me with the perfect opportunity to trade my microscope for a telescope.  A chance to look at the bigger picture, knowing that though this stage of life can be exhausting, it is also beautifully innocent and gone in a flash.  One day my son won't want to tell me every thought that occurs to him.  One day I will look at my moody teenager and long to see the curious preschool spirit that once occupied her body.  One day my baby won't light up with joy at the sight of me and want nothing more than a mama hug.

Today is not that day, and I need moments of clarity on the run to remember that life is fleeting.  Innocence lasts just a moment - this moment - and I need to be present to see it.  Surely the days are hard and long, as are the tantrums and the frustrations.  But such is life.  Messy, crabby, and chaotic, but also joyful, loving, and beautiful.

Amen!

When I run, with fresh air in my lungs and sweat on my skin, I can change my focus.  I remember that the days are long but the years are short.  Running refreshes my spirit and recharges my body so that I can be present in the moment, whatever it has to offer.