Sunday's Child

Gotta Run

My friend Karen and I share a running routine that involves chilly mornings and a 6 o'clock rendezvous at a central meeting place in New Westminster.

Earlier in the year, we eagerly anticipated the arrival of Daylight Savings Time. It was Karen who later pointed out that "springing forward" meant darker mornings -- at least for the time being.

We run; we talk; we inspire; we plan; we digress; we walk; and before you know it, it's 7 o'clock and time to get on with the rest of our days.

I appreciate Karen's wisdom -- and her company. For many years, running was a solitary activity for me. It's nice to have a running partner who doesn't flinch at the thought of a 6 o'clock run -- darkness and all!

Karen's children are fast-asleep when she leaves for her morning run and sometimes still sleeping when she returns.

I, on the other hand, have children who are fast-asleep in their bedrooms in Victoria and Ottawa -- and who probably don't even know their mother wakens in the dark, laces up her runners, and heads out the door for an early-morning running rendezvous.