I’m an introvert

I like the solitude

Hopefully declining that party isn’t being rude

But being around people doesn’t always hurt

On a Sunday morning, I’m not in a church

I roll out of bed at 4:20

Read a chapter, drink a cup of coffee, eat a banana – it’s plenty

There’s no one on the interstate

I arrive early, better than late

My sneakers are on and then I pin the bib to my shirt

I say hello to a few others in the parking lot

A monumental deed for an introvert

All as the sky gets lighter

A few us jog quietly to the boardwalk

The ocean is a magnet

At 6 am, runners and water are attracted

We all stop and scatter at the sprawling sand

As a pink ball rises

We pull down our sunglasses but not for disguises

The gulls squawk

Tourists, locals, runners, surfers flock

Each one an image of the Creator

On the boardwalk

We make our way to the start line

It’s big enough by design

You don’t need a shirt

No fancy shoes or skirt

Hit the port-a-potty along the way

High-five a friend you haven’t seen in a few days

10 miles in the blazing sun

How can existence be this much fun

Most of us barely talk – especially as the race nears the end

Our feet are like fins

I had to tell one guy that the sharks won’t get him

Another lady cheered everyone the whole time

And me and one girl marveled at the guy at the head of the line

An out and back loop

Along Atlantic, in search of the truth

Everyone gets a medal

It doesn’t matter when you finish

At the end, jump in the ocean and be replenished

I was in a wave of two thousand

An introvert in a sea

But in the race I found a part of me – others

I brought my talent

And it doesn’t matter one’s size or speed

Bring what you have to offer plus bring a need

To the boardwalk race

Find your place

That stretch of pavement, that sand, that ocean – all those humans, like the Creator – are not inert

There is connectivity out there in the open – isn’t that church?

Something that attracts even this introvert