I had an early appointment in town, 30 miles away, and was getting ready to go out about 45 minutes hence. I had gone out to the car to bring a couple of things into the house that had been kicking around my back seat, and was out in the driveway about 7:30 that morning. It's not a time I typically get started. Since retiring several years earlier, i had drifted into a stay up late, get up mid morning routine, since I'd never been an early riser, and this schedule fit my temperament better. So it was with surprised delight I saw my neighbor, Sandy, walking past my house.
"Hey, Tom!!" she said cheerfully as she passed. "You're out early!!"
"Hi, Sandy. Yeah, it's not my usual routine, but I have a doctor's appointment in town, and have to get an earlier start than I usually do. Not really my time of day, but it won't kill me."
Sandy laughed. "I guess not." She paused. "I bet you're in a hurry??"
"I have some time. I woke up early, and decided I'd just get the day started. I didn't know you walked in the morning."
"Yeah, I try to. I spend most of my day sitting at a desk. The activity is good for me, and don't feel like such a slug for just sitting all day. This time of year it's dark when I get home, so I try to get out and walk in the morning." It was mid February, though the weather was spring like, already pushing 45 this early in the day.
I knew she usually left for work around 8:30, as I had seen her leave the house around then on the rare times I was up that early.
"Well, I probably shouldn't keep you, then. I know you have to get to that slaving job and work all day." I thought a moment. "Unless you wouldn't mind if I tagged along."
Sandy smiled. "That would be great. I'd love for you to join me. I'd been hoping we'd catch up some time."
"Thanks. I wasn't sure. I know sometimes it's fun to have some company, but there are also times when you just want to be alone with your thoughts."
Sandy smiled. "Yeah, I have mornings like that. I just want to get off by myself and clear my head. So if I don't ask you to come along, or beg off, don't get bent."
I laughed. "No, I won't. I understand completely. Back when I was driving trucks, a lot of times I'd make a pick up in the afternoon, then have to run 300 miles off it right away to make the delivery on time. I'd pick up in, say, Kansas City at Owens Corning, going to 84 Lumber in Zanesville, Ohio, and make it to Effingham, Illinois, and knock off. I'd go in the restaurant at one of the many truck stops there, and sit down at the counter in a place with maybe eight or ten other people in the whole restaurant at 9:30 at night. Within ten minutes, someone would come in and sit down next to me in the otherwise empty restaurant, light a cigarette, and want to talk. Used to drive me crazy. So I get it."
Sandy laughed. "I bet you have a lot of stories from those days."
I patted her shoulder. "Some day, we'll get together, I'll tell you some good ones. I was over the road for a little over five years. It was an adventure."
We started to walk, heading around the loop around our development. Sandy spoke first. "I'm sorry to hear about your wife," she said, taking my hand. My wife had passed about two months prior. "I've been meaning to come over, but life keeps gettng in the way, not that it's any excuse."
I squeezed Sandy's hand. "No problem. I know you have your hands full over there." Sandy and I had been having a sporadic affair, mostly around the holidays, for a couple of years. When it was on, it was hot, but we'd also go months without talking, beyond a casual 'hello' when we'd see each other in the neighborhood.
"Yeah, seems like everything is working against me. Kids are doing OK in school, but not much help around the house. Husband not always helpful, either. Job is often stressful, too. Sometimes I feel like I'm shoveling against the tide."
I took Sandy's hand for a moment. "I know how you feel. And then, it seems like as soon as you leave the house, some catastrophe occurs."
Sandy laughed. "You sure you don't live in my house?? That's when disaster always happens!!" She got pensive a moment. "I try to get out and walk most mornings, at least when it's already light. Sometimes its the only peace I get all day."
"I get it. That was the one good thing about driving over the road for me. I was alone with my thoughts a lot. It can be a double edged sword, though. Sometimes you spiral down into some dark holes."
Sandy squeezed my hand. "Yeah, that's true. Fortunately, there's not much opportunity for that in a 20 minute walk. And most mornings, it is rather peaceful."
"True. I'm not an early riser, as you may have figured out. But the times I do get out early, I am always struck by the difference in mood of the early morning, versus the late afternoon. I think, I really should do this more. But then, the tendency to stay up late takes over, and I'm going to bed at four AM."
"Well, you should come out early more." She looked over at me. "We can walk together. Truth be told, most mornings, I'd welcome the company." She squeezed my hand and smiled at me.
