Patches of Shade

Friends, it is officially hot here in North Texas.

This is only the beginning. We're at June 21st - the beginning of summer meteorologically - and this is only the beginning. Right now, we're hovering right around the 90° mark with a fair amount of humidity, but also nice afternoon breezes. Soon enough, we'll be 10° higher, with more humidity. Soon after that, we'll be 20° higher (a.k.a., "Hell") and the humidity will be...ugh. And the winds will go away. Far, far away.

Why this weather report? Well, here's what I've become in my newly-formed exercising self: an evening walker. I used to exercise in the morning. When I exercised before, I used to drag my butt out of bed, drag myself to the gym, get ready for work at the gym, and then go to work. I felt so damn proud of myself for making all that effort int he morning. Problem is, it didn't stick because I'm not really a morning person. (That's one reason. The other is that I don't really like gyms. I'm more of a coffee shop person in the morning. But I digress...)

So, in this latest charge, I've become an evening walker and I really, really enjoy it. There is something serene about ending my day with the relative serenity of walking and I feel even more proud of myself when I manage to walk off a really poopy day. Turns out exercise is good for body and soul - HUH.

I am blessed that many of my evenings easily allow me to include this exercise. My church folks aren't so much into evening meetings, so those and other evening events are few and far between, and other evening work is usually pretty flexible. (Hallelujah.)

This week, however, we've been hosting our annual Vacation Bible School from 6:30 to 8:45 each evening. It's been a struggle for me, honestly, to figure out meals, let alone exercise. And so while VBS has all been great fun, I have to say that I got to a point this week where I was missing my walks. So, yesterday, I was determined to get in a good walk before VBS. And I did.

Here's the deal: walking at 3pm is much different than 8pm. MUCH. You can be very glad they didn't find me on the side of the road (under the faded sign), lying in a huge pool of my own sweat, because I was truly almost there. (Lesson: hydrate better!) The route I selected - well, I thought it had more shade than it did. I was wrong. Oh well.

Today, undaunted, I struck out again around 3pm. SCREW YOU, SUNSHINE! It felt great - for the first five minutes - and then....UUUUUUGH. I started having visions of being prepared to walk through the desert for miles on end if I needed to... (as if....)

I had decided on more of a neighborhood route than yesterday, chosen on purpose because I knew that a neighborhood would provide more shade. And it eventually did. I found myself walking from patch to patch of shade, relishing the sun when it hit my face and the wind when it blew in my hair. You see, I've never really been much of a hot weather person (even living in Texas almost all my life) - hot weather is for sitting next to or in a pool, not for exercising in, for goodness' sake!

But if I am going to do this - if I'm really going to make this all work for me - I'm going to have to get out there in the daylight sometimes. Yes, we have a treadmill and I use that at times, too. But there is nothing quite like an outdoor walk - nothing like alternating my way along sunny sidewalks and shady patches.

Soon, VBS will be over with and I will reclaim my evening walking time. But I'm really glad I got out there and claimed some of the afternoon sunshine (and shade), too.