i ran with cam & mel yesterday by my mom’s house because i have taken refuge there. we started out early as the summer heat is getting too hot to run later in the day. from my mom’s house, it’s about a mile to the beach. we ran without lola and it was a nice change. cam took the lead followed by mel and i was the last of the three. i am happy to be running with these young strong girls. they always inspire me to workout harder. we got to the beach and had agreed to run another 10 minutes before we would head back. cam was running hard and i had decided to stop off at a bench to watch the ocean, do some meditation and wait for the girls to return. i was happy to run about 3 miles that day. i think the girls wanted to run more so decided to wait for them to return when they were ready.
sitting there above a high cliff and looking down below, i could see people on the beach with their dogs. it’s doggie beach. lots of happy dogs frolicking everywhere. it made me smile to see them playing. i thought of my 2 golden retrievers who have since passed onto to doggie heaven. i was breathing in and breathing out and listening to the ocean and the wind. i was so grateful to enjoy that very moment and taking in all the sensations of the sun, the warmth, the wind, and the smell with my eyes closed. suddenly, i heard someone ask me, “aren’t you suppose to be running or something?” i was startled and opened my eyes. there stood an older man in his late 50’s or early 60’s with swim trunks, flip flops and a heavily weathered tanned body. i smiled and told him i was taking a break and waiting for my young running mates to return.
he introduced himself as steve and proceeded to interview me as a potential dating candidate. he wanted to know where i live, which part of town, how long i had lived there, what i did for a living…..then of course, my age. i told him that men should never ask a woman her age. he laughed nervously and said that i should just tell him then slap him afterwards. i replied that i don’t make it a habit of slapping men. without getting much info out of me, steve then told me he surfs regularly in this spot in the early mornings, he’s a grade school history teacher with the summer off. he works 180 days per year with every holiday off, the summer off and looking forward to a nice retirement soon. he was a nice enough guy but i had little interest other than a pleasant conversation.
meanwhile, cam & mel came back to get me. i introduced them to steve and he was making small talk to the girls, when i noticed a women jogging by with a very nice jogging stroller. i was eyeing the stroller when steve asked if i had a baby. i was happy to share with him that i have a 13.5 month old baby girl. steve chuckled in what seemed like embarassment or nervousness and made a funny remark that my husband must be watching the baby so that i could go running. cam, mel and i just laughed openly and explained nothing.
why is it that people, strangers and anyone should make judgements on others? a friend of mine wrote on her facebook wall today something that i would like to share….
“When You judge another, you DO NOT define them, you define YOURSELF!”it is not a reflection of me but a reflection of him when steve spoke. cam, mel and i bid our good-byes to steve and ran home secretly laughing at how funny his comment was.
i don’t take offense to my encounter with steve, the surfer. i think it’s kind of funny how people are so quick to judge and make assumptions of others.
until next time, smiles……GIGI
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