A Little Bit of Me-Time

Story 6

by Christina Rolofs

Say it. - Go ahead and say jogging is boring. I hear that so often. In my family, except for my daughter, who now lives far away, everyone hates jogging. But you have to show some backbone. And most importantly, jogging is my special me-time.

And it has some positive sides. So, for example, on St. Nicholas' Day on December 6, people in Germany put out a pair of shoes. And over night they miraculously fill up with all kinds of sweets and little presents. Good for those who have a pair of roomy jogging shoes in addition to stilettos and sandals.

And what have I not been given over the years. A Walkman, which one had to clip to the waistband, with long, thin cables to headphones, which one still wore on-ear at that time. Fashionably a nightmare and movementwise a permanent annoyance, because one had to pull up the trousers again like every 100m. Then came mp3 players that you could strap to your upper arm. The cables became shorter and the headphones in-ear, and the pants stopped moving from there.

Then iPhone & Co. and Bluetooth headphones. By now I can't get lost, thanks to the online navigator, and I can even compete with people somewhere in the world. My family really shouldn't talk about it in such a negative way, after all, my jogging over many years offers them super opportunities for Christmas and birthday presents.

But of course, none of that really counts if it weren't for the real and true joy I get from running. It took a while, but at some point running wasn't running anymore, it was my zen moment. It takes my mind off things. I can let my mind run free while I jog. Something I might only be able to do on vacation at the beach. It carries me like in a review through my everyday life but also to totally imaginative thoughts. I glide through space and time while jogging. Sometimes I don't even realize where I've been running, but I've been running through a sea of feelings and thoughts.

Soon, in May, it will smell like woodruff again for a few weeks, reminding me of May punch and spring festivals. Everything is colorful and sprouting. When I'm not thinking about something, the surroundings capture me. Now it is the lambs and kids, but sometimes also the fawns and even small foxes I have seen. At some point it is again the yellow rape fields and then the brightly colored trees and the rustling underfoot.

This world, whether it drizzles or the sun shines, this world is all mine. For about an hour there is only what I imagine and what I see, smell or hear. My me-time. And if I ever wanted to convert someone to have a different attitude towards joggers, it wouldn't be my family, nor you the inclined reader. It would be horseflies and mosquitoes. The only real enemies of joggers.