simple little things

I am not a runner.  Never have been.  But I started running a few years ago to impress a guy I had just started dating.  That guy is now my husband, and seems to be sufficiently impressed with me, but I still like to run every once in a while anyway, just to prove to myself that I can.  Yesterday, as I was getting ready to leave for the gym around 6am, I stepped out onto the porch.  It was perfect outside.  The air felt exactly the same temperature as my skin.  So I put my things down, grabbed a house key, and went for a run.  I should mention that I’m not a very good runner.  I get winded pretty quickly, and my face gets redder than I can really explain.  Knowing this, deciding to go for a run is never an easy decision – the gym is always a more reliable option.

I ran a zig-zag course through my neighborhood, which I am slowly learning my way around.   A few blocks into my trip, I heard a wild ruckus coming from a big tree up ahead.  As I got closer, I could see two squirrels chasing each other around the trunk of the tree, up and down, faster and faster.  It was like a Looney Tunes episode come to life.  Probably one of the funnier things I’d seen all week. 

I ran for about a half hour, then stopped to walk, thinking it was about time to head back home.  I got to my house, had a drink of water, and realized I had a little something left in me.  So I went back out, and ran some more.  I ran under a beautiful mimosa tree, and was amazed by how much it scented the air around it.  Being all sweaty and gross, a scent like that was pretty awesome.  I ran back the same way I had come the first time, and passed the tree with the squirrels again.  And there they were, still chasing, still fighting for the rights to whose tree it would be, flexing their little squirrel muscles.

I always thought that the reward for making a good or healthy decision would be something big and tangible.  But when I chose to go for a run (challenging,) over going to the gym (predictable,) my reward was the smell of a blossoming tree, and the bragging rights of being the sole witness to hot squirrel fight action. 

In the end, it’s the simple little things that make this life so good.