I Didn't See the Truck

I'm speaking metaphorically -- but I feel like I got run over by a truck.

Some days are like that, I suppose; for whatever reason, you just feel a bit run down. Of course, it's always better when that happens after a really hard training day, or the day after a race. It makes sense then. But you don't want to feel Mack-smacked after a boring, average day. And let's face it -- yesterday was a pretty ordinary Monday. Swim practice, a day at the office, an evening watching Jeopardy, then reading a book.

But perhaps the metaphorical grillmarks on my backside are the result of cumulative strain rather than a single day of pummeling. The weekend did have its tougher moments (challenging swim practice, moving more boxes into the basement, etc), and yesterday's office workload was a bit higher than usual. Yeah, I think that's it. I'm not coming down with the flu or anything, I just need a vacation.

It's been a long time since I've gone on a nice, restful trip. It is true that I went to Wichita to visit my dad a couple of months ago, and it was good to see him...but it's not the same as going someplace that doesn't suck.

For a real restful vacation, I need to go someplace where the air smells of pine trees, the brooks babble, and you feel like you probably won't get eaten by a mountain lion...but you just might see one in the distance. I need a few days of quiet, solitude, and little hole-in-the wall restaurants that serve aspen-bark waffles and jackalope sausage. I want to wake up to find myself in a place where the word "proposal" can only mean that some local kid is giving a diamond to his best girl, and where anyone from the "government" is likely to get their britches filled with rock salt and bacon rind.

I want to stick my feet in an ice-cold stream and pretend that the temperature doesn't bother me. I want to hit pine cones with a gnarly stick and visualize that I'm smacking humongous homers, while the breeze in the branches sounds like a cheering crowd. I want to sit on a big warm rock and look out across a wide valley where there are no red or blue campaign signs, just greens, yellows, and browns.

You know what? Just thinking about such a peaceful scene has made me feel a bit better. I guess it's good to take a mental break every now and then, even if a physical trip isn't on the agenda. Oh, I still have my workout to do, and a day at the office to face, but maybe I'll do a little more "deep in the woods" meditiation before I go to sleep tonight. I might just wake up with a little more pep tomorrow.

I'll let you know. Have a great day!