So today I've had a ME day. Every so often I need a little time to myself. Some women/men go the spa, golf course, mall or shooting range. With the way the economy is lately, it seemed prudent and even frugal to just wander around my home town, doing things that I might not ordinarily do. Today I did a couple of things that I felt would put a little gas in my emotional tank while saving gas in my car's tank.
(As I type this from my backyard, my computer is sending me lots of pop ups to tell me that I have no spyware protection, that the world will end in less than an hour if I don't update, scan and arm myself immediately. I thought this ME day was supposed to get rid of the stress, not fill me with more. I need more gas in my tank, not threats from my laptop!)
So, back to today. I always join a friend of mine on Tuesday mornings to pray at the church. I'm not Catholic, but it would be pretty cool to show up one morning and find some nuns praying on the front pews, with some candles lit nearby. I always wanted to be a Catholic, mostly because my whole neighborhood was Catholic when I was growing up. Catholics got to go to church on Saturday night, the women got to wear pants and they had this great "Lawn Party" every summer. Oh yeah, and they took communion all the time and dancing was okay with the priest. I grew up Baptist, and that's a whole 'nother story.
So anyway, I went to church this morning to pray, and when we were through, I went to a local park to take a walk. I brought my iPod and earbuds, and made sure to wear my hiking shoes and cargo pants. The weather was beautiful; sunny and clear. Perfect for walking, right? But I got to the park and it was full of young mommies and their tots, strollers and sippy-cups. It felt really warm in the car, and I chickened out. After a few minutes I drove a couple of miles away to another park that proved to be perfect and inspiring. The paved walking trail follows the path of a creek, in one big meandering circle. One lap around was 9/10 of a mile. Some of the path was shady and the breeze was enough to keep me cool for the entire trek.
After the walk, I went home to get some lunch, change clothes and go to the Books-A-Million to get a cup of coffee and check out the latest books.
I'm so proud of the book stores that made it through the financial collapse a few years ago. I really want to support them if I can, so I try to buy something every time I go, although mostly its just a magazine or cheap paperback. Either way, its my way of saying "Way to go!"
On the way home from the bookstore, I drove to the local rec center, to see how far the walk would be from my house to there. I'd like to try doing that walk every so often, although there's one part of the walk that inevitably creeps me out. I don't know why. It creeped me out today when I drove over there. They say our area is full of civil war battlefields and there's no telling who might have died there a hundred years ago.
So, maybe I won't walk to the rec center after all. Maybe the half mile there and back would be better spent at the track by the creek. Don't you agree?