little country runkin

After beating jet-lag and then relaxing through the holidays (and fighting off a yucky cold), it’s time to pound the roads again. While I miss the river and the bridges and all the quaintness of Tartu, the Texas countryside has its own goodness, and I think I’ll enjoy the next few weeks.

This morning was interesting. I ran the road that cuts past our house till the good part ran out, passing fields and neat farms with horses and cows and everything you’d expect to find in this part of America. I was passed by someone in a pickup truck who waved and also by an older lady in a minivan who stopped and got her mail out of her mailbox before heading down a long driveway to a house off the road. Over hills, under trees; everything was all bright and shadowy in the sun and shade.

I turned and came back the same way, passed home and headed toward the school. The football team was running laps inside the school property as I went in the opposite direction just outside the fence. Farther along I passed the younger kids all out on the playground for recess, then I crossed back over the highway at the crosswalk, came home past the park and the church and then ran around our block before finally hitting my goal time.

I headed to the walking trail in the park to cool down, and as I passed the church again I noticed that someone had left their truck parked and running behind the fellowship hall. Made me smile, that there are still places in the world where people trust people, even enough to leave their cars empty and running.

The park was beautiful and after walking a little while I sat on one of the benches in the sunshine and watched all the little kids across the road run back into the school when the bell rang. Later the man who left his truck running came out, put some things he’d cleaned out of the church into a large dumpster behind the building, then he got back into his truck and drove off.

Our little brown dog greeted me at the gate, and then I was home. My family home.

Texas is nice.

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