A Greenway Miracle

I love the South. I most especially love Southern hospitality. I guess what I’m referring to is really just common decency, but sometimes it touches you and makes you grateful for the thoughtfulness of others. So how did that warm fuzzy feeling begin? It all started with a greenway mission. I woke up determined to run/walk more miles than I had ever done before. I loaded up the stroller full of water, sunscreen, and snacks for the kid, and hit the pavement full of optimism. Which lasted for approximately .44 miles according to my Garmin. Definitely no record-breaker distance.

It was at this mile marker .44 that we hit the mother of all obstacles. In the monsoon of last night, several trees crashed and broke apart on the boardwalk. This was a significant obstacle to most people hitting the greenway solo – a series of over-under-over-sideways maneuvers to clear the debris. With a stroller this seemed impossible. But I woke up determined. So, I took Graham and all of my gear out of the stroller, and contemplated my next move. This is when a miracle happened. It seemed that out of no where, a team of people swarmed to the site to assist me and my little man around the trees. I watched my child as a (handsome!) gentleman hoisted my stroller over the broken trees. Another person gathered all of my water bottles and sippy cups, and a young woman helped me coax my son through an obstacle course My Gym would have been proud of. After I thanked everyone whole-heartedly, the gentleman yelled back after me, “Now y’all come back, ya hear?” OK, totally kidding.

I didn’t end up setting my record. It was totally swampy outside, and my child was yelling “Bye-bye car” for the last four miles. Plus, I was pretty concerned about whether or not I’d have a second miracle crew come and rescue me and my son to get back over the fallen debris so we could get to our car. Well, there was no miracle. Unless you consider Parks and Rec showing up and clearing the debris while I was out on my run. Which definitely comes close in my book!