It is almost two years to the day when it all started. When something in my head snapped and I momentarily lost my mind, losing a grasp on reality. And then it was too late.... it all started to snow ball out of control!
Being early January, I was revisiting one of my favorite broken resolutions.... I was going to get back into shape. Now there are all kinds of shapes; squares, octagons, parallelograms, triangles. They're all nice shapes.... but not necessarily all good to be body shapes. I guess I didn't want to necessarily get into shape.... I just wanted to stop becoming an oval. Round wasn't the shape I was looking for and I decided to do something about it.
So I did what I always do when I decide its time to 'un-oval' myself.... I run.
I used to run in high school on the track team. Actually, I was a pole vaulter, but we did have some running to do during practice. I didn't really like the running part..... it was so tiring... but, I knew that to be a good pole vaulter, I had to listen to my coach and do what he asked of me. So I would run. I wouldn't enjoy it. But I would run.
Since high school... I hadn't run very much. Every year or so.... I'd get into 'un-oval' mode and I'd run about three miles every other day. This would usually last about a week and then I'd remember.... I don't like to run. Then I'd grab a bag of potato chips, sit on the couch and watch the tube.
So here I was again. But this time was different... again. This time I was going to stick with it... again.
I remember that first morning so clearly. It was very sunny and actually quite warm for a January in New England.... about 30 degrees. Balmy! It had already snowed a few times, so there were long piles of dirty white icy snowy stuff lined along all the roads making the run more of an obstacle course.
I got outside early, stretched and started my jaunt down to the stop sign... about 3 miles away roundtrip.
During this time in my life, I was very involved with our local synagogue.... sitting on the board and helping out whenever a need arose. I was also the Building Committee Chairman. Our synagogue needed a Building Committee Chairman to head up the Building Committee and we needed a Building Committee because our building was falling apart. The roof was water logged and leaked. There was mold in the coat closet. The insulation was wet so didn't work well, making the bathrooms frigid. (Frigid bathrooms are not fun.... takes the tongue on a frozen metal pole to a whole different level. Ever get stuck to a toilet seat?)
Unfortunately, our synagogue membership isn't loaded. Far from it. We have a real focus on the children, trying to make services enjoyable for them and also running many events geared towards them. We tend to get alot of young families join.
So there I was..... running.... thinking.... running... one foot after another.... thinking... jump over the snow bank.... thinking....
And this was when my mind started playing tricks on me.
Stay tuned for What Was I Thinking (Part Two): Goodbye Reality
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