Half a Lifetime

It occurred to me, while running through Garner Park listening to my ipod, that I have been doing this since I was 15. "This" meaning running that route. Sure, there are a few more paved paths, but I did that run on my fifteenth birthday thinking about the evening's plans. Today I also ran past the iron bridge in the trees where I interrupted my high school boyfriend mid-sentence and kissed him, because I couldn't wait any longer. I must have run in college, but making plans with friends night after night seems more likely. I ran every day one Christmas vacation when I was a "real runner." Those five miles went so quickly. Today was brief and fairly sluggish. One change is the music. I suppose listening to "The Funeral" gives me some kind of maturity though it doesn't feel like enough.

I've been getting my mom's discount at Field's, now Macy's, for an entire lifetime. Each time we go there is some sort of clothing mission: the publishing job suit, first-date top, teacher clothes. Today it was comfortable pj's that are not completely unflattering. I explained that there is no longer any professional reason for me to leave my house. So, I got these pj's and tried them on at home. I hunted down some photos of my parents '72 Beetle to show my boyfriend. I showed them to mom, in the new pj outfit, and said I should have "born to score" silkscreened across the front. THIS is the current identity that was not the case at 15. At least it's different. Oh! and I bought beer today. There is growth.