I went for a run tonight.

I am not sure what spurred me on. We were all at the garden plot picking weeds. As we were leaving, I asked if the boys wanted to jog home. C agreed. Off we went. Me and my 5.5 year old, trotting the half mile back to our house. He was a great companion. He told me that he likes looking at birds when they fly in formation because he takes pictures of them in his mind and that the pictures remind him of Santa Claus’ suit (too funny!). When we got back to our house, I was not winded at all. Not bad considering it has been a good three weeks since I have done anything physical.

I decided to go back out. No agenda. No time or mileage requirement. I don’t know what inspired me. The song of the crickets. The AMAZING sunset (pink and purple wispy perfection). The fact that I was not winded? Who knows? I still don’t and I probably won’t.If I try to focus on what the motivating “it” was, I may never find it. And I will spin my wheels trying to recreate something that didn’t exist.

I just know that I wanted to go running, so I did.

I am so glad. It was actually fun again. I have no idea how far I went, or how fast, and I don’t care. I found myself smiling while running.

Part of learning to be kind to myself is accepting that moments like this don’t have to mean everything. I am back on the running bandwagon! I am going to buy new shoes and a pedometer and a heart rate monitor..and and and and….Runaway thoughts like these are what get me in trouble and eventually become overwhelming. It becomes too much (for me) and a burden that I can’t live up to, rather than a healthy choice I make for myself because I want to.

I also know that moments like this don’t mean nothing. To suddenly be motivated after weeks of nothingness is an accomplishment. A big accomplishment. This is also part of being kind to myself. Seeing something for what it is, acknowledging it, and not giving it more or less value than it deserves.

My legs are really sore. But my heart is happy. I’ll take it!

Happy weekend to all. Thanks for your kind words and cheering along the way.