I’d just returned from a 12 mile run

My husband Richard had been lifting weights – benching 315

We thought it’d be fun

I peeled off my compression sleeves

He cleaned his hands of the chalk

We were both exhausted

He said, “Come over here, let’s have a talk”

I propped my feet up, they ached so bad

Richard’s shoulders seared

He told me, “You know, we’re getting up there in years,

I’m not a Navy seal, you’re not an Olympian,”

“And we’ll never be,” I chimed in

We looked at each other in that garage

Our neighbor waltzed up

Jim, 88, no walker or cane

“If I may give me two cents,

You two kids need to pace yourselves

All this striving is in vain

So many whistles and bells

Where do you want to be 50 years from now

Consider your motives and what matters most

However you get there, slow should be how

Your body is not a punching bag

Or an unbreakable rubber band

I see you kids training all the time

Understand:

Spend time together, walk, make time for rest

Even eat some ice cream

You’ll live longer and happier than you expect”

I took off my running shoes

Richard racked the barbell

We went in the hot tub

Ate dinner and ice cream

It was swell

We sat down

The next day we went for a stroll

And the next

I ran just 3 miles

He lifted half the weight

We left a little something in the tank

Time for other things

It had been a while

Our joints healed

We welcomed our first child

We kept walking everyday

In the middle of the balance beam

Together – healthy, happy, keeping gremlins at bay

Splendid moderation – so much better than it can seem