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Showing posts from 2018

Welcome the Stranger

One day while walking the kids to school, Sean was telling me how his brand new tennis shoes allowed him to run really fast. I smiled, agreed with him, and continued schlepping Audrey's violin on my shoulder while holding the leashed dog in one hand and a dog-poop-bag in another. Sean: You know, Mama. I bet if you put on your tennis shoes and tied them really tight, you might actually be able to run. I scoffed. me: I can run! Sean: You can? me: Of course I can! You just don't see me run very much because I have all this stuff weighing me down. Sean: Oh. Yeah, (almost to himself)  I just never see you run... me: I am able  to run. I just choose to walk. His belief that maybe I could run if I just tried was endearing, but I suddenly felt very alien to my own child. I dropped the kids at school and as I walked home by myself, a half block from our duplex, I began to jog. I started to pick up speed, sprinting, and our dog happily raced alongside me. The air whipped