Tuesday Tidbit- Or is that TUESDAY RANT?

Warning- the following blog post will have nothing to do with anything about caregiving or kids or parenthood or anything useful. There's just something I have to get off my chest. So you, my friends, are today's lucky audience!

I'm a runner. (Wow, that could go so many different directions. . . .) Three mornings a week, I get up at the crack of dawn and do some roadwork- anywhere between 2 to 4 miles. (Yes, mostly 2 mile stretches as of late, but at least I'm still getting out there). Running is my time to have some quiet and not think about anything except breathing in, breathing out and putting one foot in front of the other. I get up early for two reasons: 1.) The rest of the fam is still asleep. 2.) Not much traffic on the roads at 6 AM. It's serene, most days.

Notice I said "most days". Here-in lies my points of ranting:

1.) Yes, I know there is a sidewalk. I don't need you, a passing car, to roll down your window and inform me of that fact. The asphalt has a softer impact on my joints and there is less danger of tripping over uneven areas and falling flat on my face.

2.) I stay well over on the shoulder of the road. If there are five other lanes available, it doesn't hurt to give me a little extra room. Most people do this quite nicely. Including the county policeman who do not try to run me off the road. Or give me a ticket. They seem to understand that they are a vehicle and I am a pedestrian and heck, it's six o'clock in the morning, so why not just be pleasant and get along? But really, when there ARE five other lanes available, there is no need to run me off the road for your amusement.

3.) I realize that six o'clock in the morning is not the most pleasant hour to hold a conversation. A simple Good Morning or nod will do. 99% of the people out at this time of day are pretty polite. Then there are the cyclists. Not only do they run you off the road, a lot of them simply turn their nose up at you. Fine. Don't expect me to be pleasant the next time I pass you in my car. Remember, at some point, I'll be driving and you'll be riding.

4.) And for the cyclist who has run me off the road THREE times, I just want you to know, I'm no longer going to be nice about it. I'm bringing my football arm. Snobby Cyclist, meet Mr. Clothesline. And right behind him, Mr. Stink Egg all over your Tour de France helmet.

I know. The odds are I won't because I'm just too nice.

But a runner can dream.

Yours, looking forward to my next run,

Melissa