Welcome to my first installment of Wednesday Word, a weekly linkup for everyone, not just health and fitness bloggers.

Each Wednesday you will have a single word prompt to write about.  Let your imagination run free and share with your readers your interpretation of that word, or simply use it as inspiration for your post.

Today’s word is solitude……  If you decide to linkup, please remember to follow my six simple rules.

WednesdayWordSolitudePoster
 

Solitude – the state or situation of being alone.
“She savored her few hours of freedom and solitude.”

 

I grew up on a farm with pastures, corn fields, and cows all around – far from the hustle and bustle of even the nearest small town.  If you craned your neck just so, you could see my aunt and uncle’s house about a quarter of a mile away.

I yearned for friends next door and sidewalks for roller skating; instead, I learned to play by myself or bury my head in a book and live vicariously through the lives of Laura Ingles and Nancy Drew.  Other than a period of time when I was four and had an entire family of pretend ghosts that lived in my room, I was a very normal kid that eventually learned to embrace the peace and quiet of country life.

I learned to make a game out of lying on my back and picking out animal shapes in the fluffy white clouds as they moved across the brilliant blue sky. I learned to appreciate and identify the songs of different birds singing in our quiet back yard.  I learned that there is no better smell than that of hay curing, and no better feeling than that of a baby calf nuzzling for affection.

I learned that solitude is a very good thing.

My childhood of solitude wasn’t lonely, but it was a lesson in how to deal with being alone.

Today, I enjoy my time alone. Yes, I’m a very social person, but I don’t mind being by myself at all. I prefer to run with friends, but when I can’t, I don’t need music to keep me going – I have birds singing and squirrels chattering to keep me company.

I savor the changing seasons as I run down the W&OD Trail. I anxiously anticipate every tiny new bud in March, and marvel at the explosion of leaf colors in October.  I notice the changes in water levels in the creek as it rises with the spring rains, and then exposes its rocks during the drought-like conditions of August.

I notice my breathing quicken as I pick up the pace from my slower warm-up to that of my tempo run, and I can hear the sound my footsteps make against the quiet morning backdrop. These are things that I miss when I’m engaged in conversation while running with friends.

So which do I prefer – running alone or running with friends?  Both!  And I can thank my childhood for teaching me to enjoy being alone, and learning to appreciate nature’s gift of solitude.

What is your solitude?

 

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Deb Runs

 

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Next Wednesday’s Word: Spontaneous