Six Word Memoirs on Life Stories

JohnBigJohn says,

Since my heart is being quickly overran by bacon grease I decided a couple weeks ago to start jogging. It is a brutal experience for me as I have the fitness level of a bag of Funyons. Every morning I throw myself out of bed in the darkness and put on warm clothes to start my run around the lake near my home. While shuffling around the path I have seem the same group of people every morning who are part of the same daily ritual. They all gallop past me with their colorful headbands and fancy pants that are apparently so tight that they cause all those who wear them to have smiles plastered across their faces.

Honestly - who can smile while running? I can't even understand having the ability to be happy while my lungs are trying to squeeze their way out of my nostrils. While running the only thing I can manage to do is curse, see black spots in the corner of my eyes, and openly sob. The task of smiling and being friendly to my fellow runner is a skill that along with bladder control, are certainly beyond my ability to control while exercising.

This morning as I completed (aka survived without a shred of dignity) my run I found a bright green bench to collapse onto. As I sat there heaving like some sort of newly beached sea creature I was approached by a group of senior citizen joggers who had passed me with ease a while earlier. They introduced themselves and asked how long I had been running. Through my gasps I did my best to communicate that I was new to the exercise scene. They all gave me some words of encouragement that I cannot frankly remember anymore and then started walking down toward the frozen lake. One of the gentlemen (who looked a lot like a relation to Andy Griffith) asked if I wanted to join them on doing their "cool down walk" on the iced- over lake.

On the lake? There was no way I was going to go to that. I have seen enough horror movies and Phil Collins videos to know that walking on a frozen lake is fraught with serious danger. Sitting up from my prone position on the bench I declined with my concern of how thick the ice actually was on the water.

Faux Andy Griffith then responded with "Walking on a frozen lake takes a lot of faith - just like life does. Sometimes you have to assume that things will work out. Can't be afraid of everything".

With that they were off to their walking on water. I sat on the bench for a bit recovering from burning muscles and my spinning brain. While I still don't think I would be excited about putting my life in the hands of a couple inches of ice, I need to have more faith. To quit assuming the worst of everything. Life does take faith. I need some more. I also need better running shoes...

canadafreeze says,

Your backstory made me wince and smile. Right now, the wind is blowing so fiercely that I just can't muster the whatever to go out in it. My daily walk will have to wait until I either see the sun or the wind stops howling - and neither is forecast.

jl333 says,

I'm more of a walker than a runner. Love your backstory.