Hell or High Hail

Me, myself & moi, we were the exact opposite of this as we went running in the rain, hail, snow. I had an on again, off again relationship with indecision. Should I run? Looking at the weather I thought not. Looking at my state of mind I thought yes. Finally, I settled on taking a chance with yes.
I took BG out with me and he told me stories about being the next “whatever.” His joking kept me going. Rain soaked me through and I needed something to put one foot in front of the other. Laughing always works. I look insane, but it works. By the time I hit the bike path the rain was going right through me. By the time I hit the first stop sign it was starting to bounce off me and it hurt. Hail. It looked like the tiny beads of styrofoam they fill beanbag chairs with. Small, round, white…and pelting.
I had a small conversation with my knee. Not happy about the run, not run attitude I have had of late, she protested a little. I moved to the dogs’ side of the path and immediately started watching my feet. Broken pen, neon green barrette, empty bottle, dirt crusted button, a scrap of torn paper, another pen, dog sh!t, rusted bottle cap, shards of bark, broken glass, the debris from lives carried on without thought. I thought about the neon green barrette and wondered if it was worn in the hair of a little girl too young to tell her mom it dropped from the stroller’s height. I pictured her staring back at it lying in the dirt, watching it get smaller and smaller as she is pushed away. I thought about the pens. Who would write on a bike path? Was this a shortcut for a business man? A source of inspiration for a budding poet with bigger aspirations than paycheck?
The hail started to mix with snow and it was time to head for home. I learned an inspiration trick from a running magazine – run a bath right before heading out. The faster you get through your run, the warmer the bath will be. As the hail pelted me and the snow chilled my skin to red I thought about the hot bath waiting for me. I couldn’t wait to climb inside. Come hell or high high I made it through.