Happenings in The Park

So I recently decided to start back with my walking routine. I started last July around my birthday and when the weather turned cold, I just kind of fell off the wagon so to speak. With that inactivity, those unwanted pounds that I had lost slowly found their way back to me. But this isn’t a post about walking. Well, it is in a way, so let me start at the beginning. So as I have said before I made the commitment to start back walking. This time I figured I would go to the park that is closest to my house. Since I would be walking by myself and I have so much blog and podcast work to do ( not complaining, just explaining) I figured that it would be easier. So the park it was and probably will be again soon just not right now at least not by myself anyway). So now that I have raised your curiosity let me tell you about the happenings in the park that day. 

So Wednesday morning I arrived at the park to do my laps. I normally try to get in 2-3 miles when I am outside and I can normally do it on those days. (But treadmill days I am lucky if I can get in a mile -treadmills are so boring). So when I got to the park, there were only 2 other cars in the parking lot. Mind you this is in a very small town and it is a wide-open space. Once I parked my car – retrieved the book for the Little Free Library that is there, I noticed that one of the cars had moved parking spaces and was parked where I would have to cross over in front of it to continue on the path. 

Mind you I had noticed this car the past two days so I decided okay they must be waiting for someone and got hot so I decided to do the walking trail backward so hopefully, by the time I would have to cross over to continue on the path they would be gone. So earbuds in, I started walking – listening to a podcast as I walked. I rounded one corner and was halfway to another corner when I looked across the field to see the car now parked in front of my car.  So I stopped for a moment and watched – I guess they noticed that I had stopped so they then drove away. 

OR So I Thought

I guess they thought I was just going to continue on my walk like normal. But I watched the car. And then it did a funny thing, it parked at another point where I would have to encounter it yet again. So at that time, my mind was racing and I was wondering what I should do. And then I remembered in my devotional that morning there was one word that stood out to me as I was reading it and that word was “Obstacles” it was like God was telling me there would be obstacles in my way that morning. So I then heard the words- Go back. 

WHAT TO DO NEXT

So that is what I did. I started walking back but I knew that I wasn’t alone (God was looking over me) but I wanted the person in the car to know I wasn’t alone either. So I quickly called my hubby and put him on speaker. I told him “ I know you are at work and probably busy but please stay on the phone with me until I get back to the car.” I turned around and walked back the same way I had come. All the while, talking to my hubby and keeping my eye on that car. Then it moved again. This time up the road near the church. So I was like okay, a little relief it was leaving. 

OR SO THAT IS WHAT IT WANTED ME TO THINK

So I slow down my pace, but by this time I am thoroughly freaked out and a little shaken that I knew that a walk in the park wasn’t happening that day. I just kept praying that I would be able to make it to my car okay. I then noticed the car stop at the Church and turn around in the parking lot like it was heading back my way. By that time I was at my car- still talking to hubby on the speaker but I still wasn’t letting my guard down. So I got in my car and watched that car again turn around in the parking lot and sit at the stop sign. 

WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW

Since the car was in the parking lot when I drove up and had the vantage point to see which way I had driven in and this is a pretty small town- I knew that if I didn’t do something different he would have followed me home. So instead of taking the route that I normally took home which would have put me crossing in front of him in my car if he was still sitting at the stop sign- I decided to go the opposite direction and a different way home to make sure that I wasn’t being followed. Hubby was still on the phone with me until I was sure. 

And FINALLY MADE IT HOME

I finally made it home, still shaking. Deadbolted and locked myself in the house. Thanking God for His protection and finally after calming down a little I decided that this obstacle wasn’t going to get in the way of my walk. Remember at the beginning of this story when I said I hated the treadmill. Well even though I hated it I still got on it to do a mile at least. And that is what I did.

DID I GO BACK? 

And the answer to that question is yes! I went back- but this time at a different time and with some reinforcements. Gigi and Allie along with Gracie joined me for the first lap around the park which is a ½ mile and then they jumped in the air-conditioned car and waited for me to finish another lap to make a mile. It wasn’t what I wanted to do but in the end, it was what I needed to do. I am still leery about going to the park which makes me so sad. This park has so much meaning to me and so many memories with my dad. I mean it was where Gracie was crowned Miss Independence and right next to where my parents had their 50th-anniversary party. 

So for now I am taking it slow, hoping to be back in the park and in the swing of walking again soon. 

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