I’ve
had two reminders to be grateful for workouts this week. Literally. “This here
pool is a blessing to be grateful for,” said AdMo-Pool-Lady-Judy this
morning.
And
then as I left the locker room she smiled at me, “You have a blessed day now
Sweetheart!”
Yesterday I had a similar reminder. After a pool run on Capitol Hill, I overheard two older women chatting in the
locker room. One (let’s call her Wig-Lady) was asking how the other was doing. “I’m
just so grateful to be swimming,” the friend responded.
“Yes,” Wig-Lady nodded sagely. “It is a blessing.”
“Yes,” Wig-Lady nodded sagely. “It is a blessing.”
And
then as I left the locker room she smiled at me, “You have a blessed day now
Sweetheart!”
Awww
thanks! And I did have a good Monday!
(Sidenote:
Nice older women are the only people allowed to call me 'Sweetheart.')
This
morning I arrive at the AdMo pool, just doing my thing, and started running (in
the water, obviously). An older woman was treading water in the deep end and as
I approached her she called out, “What you so serious for? You look like
someone’s punishing you! Just getting it done, tsk-tsk. Uh-uh, you gotta enjoy it! We
gotta be grateful that we’re here!”
That
shook me – she’s so right! I went to the pool thinking, 60 minutes, just get it
done. Not in a miserable way, but definitely not in a fun way either. And two reminders in as many days - that's got to mean something, right?
Her
name is Judy, and she explained that she treads water for 2 hours a day to stay
healthy…then spent the next 60 minutes giving me dating advice and telling me
about her sex life (Haha! Seriously. I was a captive audience, literally, and desperate
for entertainment).
And
both women are right – whether running or pooling or cross-training or
whatever, it’s easy to sometimes forget that this is what we do for fun. Instead
of worrying about getting the X number of minutes/miles/laps/etc. in before
work, we should focus on enjoying it!
Sorry
to get all philosophical on you, but as I left this morning and Judy, just like
Wig-Lady, told me to have “a blessed day, enjoy it!” I thought alright, I will!
For more about running for happiness, read this post.
