10 Miles with Friends plus Brunch

Quarantine is a bummer, friends. We are so, so lucky here in our big house with our big yard looking out at our pond. The grown-up Wiliartys have jobs that are pretty secure. The kid Wiliartys have online school that is not terrible. We have Zoom meet-ups with German groups and running groups. We have Zoom church and Facebook live concerts. I go to the grocery store about once a week. Even though I spend a million dollars every trip (who is eating all this food???), we are still ok financially. We are so blessed. And yet, quarantine is a bummer.

We miss our friends. Especially me, as I turn out to be the most social of the Wiliarty gang. We miss travel, again especially me, as the family member with the most Wanderlust. We miss being able to see grandparents in person, drinking coffee in cafes, hugging people we are not living with. I miss my students so very much. I even kind of miss driving around running errands.

I miss running with friends. Oh man, do I miss running with friends. Have I seen the occasional running buddy, able to run six feet away from them, unable to high five at the end? Maybe. Maybe not. I sure miss being able to say “Hey, I ran with so-and-so last week” without having to also say “Of course, we maintained social distance.”

But do you know what gives me hope? We are about to get some things back. We are not going to get back big city marathons any time soon. European travel is not really on the horizon. I don’t even know when I can go to Michigan to see my parents, something my heart yearns to do. But 10 miles with friends plus brunch? That is coming pretty soon. Yes, it is going to look different. There will probably be masks involved somewhere and maybe gloves and the sanitizing of credit cards and sitting outside (though I love that part). 10 miles with friends plus brunch means talking and laughing about whatever the hell we used to talk and laugh about before the current weirdness. It means looking at a menu (though maybe not touching one?) and deciding: Omelet? Oatmeal? Pancakes? It means yes-I-would-like-more-coffee-please over and over again.

Ten miles with friends plus brunch is one of the sweetest parts of running, indeed of life. It’s coming back pretty soon. When my heart is heavy and sad, that’s what I think about.