Mid-Week

And tomorrow is my favorite day of the week.

Pretty much every morning, I put on my shoes and head out the door.  Sometimes (depending on the time of year - darkness/light - and the wind) I'll ride my bike.  (And also, depending on the weather I enjoy the luxury of my very own treadmill and an elliptical.  How fortunate I am!)  But my go-to favorite morning-head-into-the-day activity is to walk.  Most days I manage between 4 and 5 miles.

Leaving the house for my walk: the setting super-moon.

I've long maintained I'm a morning person.  I just naturally wake up early, enjoy the morning hours the most and pretty much flag in the evening, shut down earlier than most people.  I understand those of us who are morning people are in the minority.  It seems most everyone I know thinks I'm crazy because I like to get up early.  (Not super-early, just early enough.)

And while I like to be up and about early, that doesn't mean I like to be social at the same time.  I think one of the reasons I like to head out the door (or to the exercise room) is that I like to enter the day at a slower pace.  I enjoy the solitude of my walks/bike-rides/treadmill/elliptical.  I can read, or listen to my iPod or even just think.  (The single exception to this is The Husband - I'm always ready to talk to him.)

Lately I've found myself extremely reluctant to answer those who demand I return their "Good Morning" when passing on the trail.  I deliberately choose the less-traveled areas to travel because I enjoy the peace.  Civility requires I be kind/nice/pleasant and return a good morning.  Frankly, I'm just not interested in communicating with civility until I've walked the sleep off my mind.  Since I have become aware of my disinclination to be pleasant in the morning, I now have a new fault to work on.  It seems my many faults will never be conquered.

Whatever...I've been thinking a lot about my morning walking and how much I enjoy it.

After my walk this morning,  The Husband suggested an article in the paper I should read.  I so loved what the author said.  She pretty much nailed what I think is appropriate exercise philosophy.  Made me wish that more people shared this approach to health.  No, I don't know the author, and only rarely read her column, but in this instance she definitely got my attention.  Food for thought.

C. Jane Kendrick: Weight loss never promised peace: Why I exercise without expectations | Deseret News

Today's gratitude:  for the luxurious indulgence of having season tickets to Hale.  The play last night wasn't my favorite, but it was such fun to go with some friends.  They didn't appear to mind too awfully much that we're old enough to be their parents.  So - gratitude for kind people as well.