Running into an old friend at the local coffee house,

we exchanged updates, what the kids are doing,

the old man’s work and music, jobs, and housing.

 

“Do you run any more?”

 

Marathons, half marathons, 10-k’s, 5-k’s, mud runs, fun runs,

I used to do them all, just because I could.

My knees held out, but my ankles caved from soccer, and

then I turned to a low-impact lifestyle.

 

“No, I stopped running a while back. I teach yoga now.”

 

And we chatted about the studio, my writing, teaching, volunteering,

return to school–only 100 hours left for my practicum–and the dogs,

cat, travels, certifications, and businesses.

 

“Wow! You’re so busy.

Even back then, you coached soccer, volunteered at school,

headed the art program, managed two club teams, ran a law office and

two kids to soccer games up and down the coast.

And then, didn’t you take your parents in?”

 

“I did. They lived with me for ten years before they died.”

 

And now, just the two of us, the cat, the dogs, and my ten jobs, in a two-bedroom

above my yoga studio, one of three businesses I run…

 

Busy-ness, so my therapists say, is a symptom of trauma.

 

I guess I’m still running.