Lately, I have been waking up at 4:30 in the morning.
My brain turns on, and I can't go back to sleep. Sometimes I don't fight it, I just get up and put on my walking shoes. I quietly bundle myself up, turn on my flashlight and head towards 32nd and Main St, just a couple of blocks away. I use the flashlight on my dark street, until I get to the well lit main street. I walk as far as I can north, past the nuts who have been at the 24 hour fitness for who knows how long already this morning. I pass McDonald's, and Taco Bell. I walk past the construction site that is soon to be Braum's. The gas station, the dry cleaners. The neon lights are on at Dude's Donuts. Men in white shirts, aprons and white hats are moving trays around like a scene from an old movie from the 50s. I walk past El Vaquero, The Tropicana. Cupcakes by Liz. I walk along Main because of the sidewalks and the street lights. I worry that if I walk in my neighborhood, it will be so dark that I might get hit by a car, chased by a dog or sprayed by a skunk. Sometimes, it is too cold to go out for an early walk. So I stay in bed. I try to go back to sleep. To fight those early thoughts of everything I should have said or done yesterday. If I'm lucky, I can block out the thoughts and as I lay there trying to go back to sleep, I will try to imagine myself walking at the Wildcat Glades. I imagine the paved path. The tall grass. The water of Shoal Creek. I imagine myself walking along the trail, under the bridges of I44. If I am really lucky, I fall asleep before I can get to Mother Nature's crack in my imaginary walk. If my thoughts start to stray, I make myself start over from the beginning. It is a good trick for falling asleep. Which would you choose? A nice early work out or an extra hour of sleep?
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Mrs. Mitchell
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March 2020
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