3.5.06

one foot in front of the other, over leaves and over bridges

more than a year has passed since i last ran laps around the oval at the sports centre. it was a time of starting an MA i can't bring myself to love, a time of getting pregnant with my second son and bringing him to the world in a miraculous VBAC delivery, a time of entering moments of calm and peace in my european adventure.

i've Never run cross-country. i've worn out a couple of cross trainers in my lifetime, too few to ever be considered a serious runner but still more than anyone with a sedentary lifestyle can ever have.

until today. batjay wrote about his brisk walking adventures in orange county over at blogkada and i tried to go the same route, only my way dove into the forest near the arenberg castle in heverlee just outside the ring of leuven, quiet in the middle of the morning under a gray sky. the track was muddy from the previous night's drizzle and i was afraid that any one of my footfalls would betray me and my ankle would crumple beneath me. in spite of the hush, spring's irrepressible energy was jumping from the tree branches and tiny yellow and white flowers growing wild on the forest floor.

more than one year of no physical exertion and my heart wanted to burst out of my chest. the football field next to alma 3 was a sea of undulating green grass, the goal posts reminding me fleetingly of the coming world cup on june 9th. (go brazil!!!)

i wanted to talk about moving on yet now that i'm seated in front of the computer screen, words fail me. words, the very things that define my career as an english teacher, the one thing i wield with confidence, yet they escape me now. right now, all i know about moving on is that sometimes, a rabbit has to run so that eagles will not take him for dinner. i can feel my whiskers twitching. i need to dive into my hole now.

happy birthday, andy.

4 comments:

Dr. Emer said...

HAPPY MOTHER's DAY, Svelte Rogue! :)

Let's cross our fingers and hope you can run some laps one of these days....

Anonymous said...

Happy mother's day, Lara. :)

Svelte Rogue said...

thanks for the greeting, missp =)

how have you been? di mo na ako sinagot sa dati kong email... how has life been treating you? i hope all is well with you, dear.

Svelte Rogue said...

doc emer, thank you for the greetings! like i told jay in the previous post, i have started running naman din. not only that, i am doing some toning with dumb bells and my signature 280 crunches again =)