"I Was A Runner!"

She was a young girl. Betty Lou was.

She was ready for the school day to start that day. She was just waiting to hear the warning bell. Hear it blare through the window. Making its way up from down below. Telling her to get her tail down the hill and into class before the final bbrrrrriiiiiiiinnngggg went off.

Ring it did. She grabbed her things. Ran out the door. Down the long slope. Through a tunnel.

Graceful.

My ninety year old mom was reminiscing about a time in her life. Remembering when she was a youth. An energetic girl who knew how to run. Run with strength.

With Grace.

 "I was a runner!" she said with glee. "I ran like a deer. Bounding along. There was nothing stopping my agility." She hugged herself. "I was great! I just love my young self!" She laughed. Wriggled herself in the chair. Happy with the memory.

Betty Lou ran with confidence. Rounded a familiar corner. Saw the man with his hands on his hips. Checking out his work. Or admiring it. "Did the cement look level?" he seemed to wonder. She didn't have time to even considered what he might have been thinking. She just kept running. Running.

Stepped right into that square of cement. Splat! went her foot. It only took her a second to decide to just keep going. Getting to school on time was of the utmost importance. She never even glanced back. Didn't know what the man was thinking.

"He probably stood there, scratching his head, wondering where the foot print had even come from," my sister said.

We laughed.

Made some jokes.

Betty Lou made it to school on time.

Not a second to spare.