“Let’s go for a hike!” was my son’s suggestion to fill our Sabbath Afternoon. “Sure! A Sabbath afternoon hike!” I said with the joy that comes from a quick mental decision to put mind over matter and view physical activity with a positive attitude. We decided to tackle one of the mountains in the valley, driving up to a halfway spot where there was a construction site. Choosing to explore the site a bit before heading up, we walked down a path that could possibly lead us back to the main road. It felt good to be up and about-- I was dressed for the occasion in my newly acquired “exercise” clothes, feeling the spring of my sneakers and inhaling the fresh, crisp air. To the left we could view another mountain and to the right we could see the plains... well, we could see the plains if the dark clouds and sheets of rain weren’t covering it… “Oh, oh…” I said as saw the dark rain clouds moving towards us. “The dark is coming!” I said, trying to sound all Lord Of the Rings-esque. Davley glanced up “We should head back to the car” she said with an undertone of urgent, “It’s coming fast”. She did an about turn and started to jog. Johann lingered and I turned to follow Davley with a fast walk. “The dark is coming, The dark is coming” I continued to joke, repeating the reference that nobody had really acknowledged the first time. I paused to catch my breath… we were going up a slight incline… “I can do this!” I encouraged myself and started a jog…Davley, now way ahead turned slightly and said, “It’s coming fast—you should hurry!” “But I am!! Can’t you see that I’m jogging??!??” “Oh” She says and turns back around. I hear a verbalized sound effect of “Shwing!” as Johann zooms past me and catches up with Davley in what seemed like a leap and a bound. As I got left behind, it hit me… the state of fitness that I was in-- If this was the apocalypse behind me, I’d be dead.
I felt discouraged and decided to lash out at Johann. “Johann!” I called out, “If this was the apocalypse, I wouldn’t make it! And you just zoomed by me with a “Shwing” without even a thought to grab my hand and pull me along as you ran saying “It’s ok Mother, I got you, I’ll get us to safety!” He gave me a weird look and I could hear the rain gaining on me… I felt the first drop hit my head and pictured myself being engulfed by a big ball of apocalyptic fire and swallowed up by the earth. I felt sad. Pit-pat; pit-pat the drops fell… Davley was entering the car, but Johann had the decency to wait for me… As I got closer he challenged, “Wanna keep going?” I shook off my discouragement! This wasn’t the apocalypse. This was exercise. And daggone it, a little rain (as menacing as the clouds looked) would not stop me. I would defy the rain, the wind. I extended my arms and shouted to the sky “I DEFY THE ELEMENTS!!” I glanced at Johann, “You think lightening might hit us as we get nearer to the top?” We debated but kept pushing forward, our determination in our steps. The rain’s intensity seemed to increase as the incline increased. “WOO-HOOOO!!” I screamed recklessly into the wind. The car was becoming smaller with distance and the plains were further away. I narrated out loud to Johann, “I can feel the rain mingling with the sweat of my brow”. “Don’t say another word, mother,” He responded, “If lightening strikes and you die, those are the last words I want to hear from you.” I looked at him, “What???” Putting an arm around me he says, “That’s ok mom, you spoiled it. Let’s keep going.” I looked up. As fast as the rains had come, they had gone. We kept going.
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