I Miss Running OR How Did I turn 40?
Unofficial Vocal Warning: A most dull mini history in woeful ramblings!
*I had almost forgot about this song from around 2004 I reckon. A young New Zealand group.
Remember that feeling as a kid of running your brains out!?
Were we really going that fast? It sure felt like we were.
And you could actually change gears ⚙️
and really take your body for a spin! -
With just a little extra oomph!
Yet now,
I’m de-tached from the outside world,
And from myself..
I miss my mid 20s - running into the ocean with full abandon,
Hanging upside down on rides at the Royal Show,
Wearing my watch everyday and taking my sweets with me
EVERYWHERE! 🍭 🍫 🍬
And often to share.. you never know who might want some too.
How has so much time passed? Why can’t it ever be the same? 🕰
I miss not being ‘woke’ to myself and my deficiencies and
The harsh realities of the world around me! 🌍
Cotton wool has its appeals! 😅
..Taking my backpack everywhere (wait I STILL do this!) 😆
Always running from Adelaide Uni to the train station or vice versa,
Always rushing like a crazy person,
“Run Forrest Run!” passerbys would frequently shout,
And I just kept on running! 🏃♂️
Maybe I’m actually a little intellectually handicapped - how would I know?
But I didn’t care too much about what others thought then,
I was incapable of pretence.
Always running to work (Maccas) I once even had a jay walking fine
Right before my shift, (who gets a fine for jay walking?!)
The shift manager encouraged everyone to put in a dollar 💵
so that going to work,
Would not be so counterproductive for me (I only got a few bucks)
But it was the thought behind it. ☺️
I’m having all these flashbacks of running now?
Once I got a small award for “straighter running” 🥉in year 6 because I’d
I’d always run in a bizarre zigzagging fashion
for our morning fitness relays,
Truth is I was covering more ground than everyone else,
the team should have been proud 😂
but they just laughed. I’ve always gone above and beyond! 😉
I also got locked in a shopping centre fire escape in Switzerland 🇨🇭
Lots of running and it was dark!
How did I get myself into these situations?
Then when our family was to go to Germany 🇩🇪
I’d almost missed the train,
I’d gone to Maccas by myself at 15 which was actually further away
than I thought. 🍔
It was a huge train station (like an airport) but I really and
I mean really wanted a cherry pie! 🍒 🥧
Running back took far longer than anticipated,
Parents were freaking out! I got really upset. I hate disappointing people.
They had to hold the whole passenger train to Germany for me, 🚊
because my parents were waiting on me and hoped I wasn’t kidnapped.
Always running out of time. Our family-rushing-gene is genetic! 🧬
Now, so much time, I drown in it like poison.
I don’t run anymore. I probably should.
I miss planning parties, gang reunions and late nights in town.
I miss games’ nights with friends and short go-aways together.
I don’t have much fun anymore. Do you? Does it ever come back?
Maybe if you have kids..
I don’t. Filthy little “maggots!” 😉 (a Matilda reference).
Somehow I forgot how to, ya know cut loose & have fun).
Although there’s probably been reasons for that..
I’m getting better at it though, I think,
Sometimes my extraverted side comes out with certain people,
Depending on what mood I’m in.
How did I turn 40 last month?
Now I am officially like some gigantic man-child.
Mostly though, I miss living and the full experience of life,
The rhythms, the pace, the joy, the fulfilment, the enthusiasm & laughter.
There’s too many hard truths and lessons in later life,
That I’m not sure you can ever fully return from..
too many barriers in the way..
You’re not (quite) the same person, you’re much older,
Your relationships are not the same and nor is the world itself -
But maybe if I went running sometime..
*If you liked it, please consider hitting the heart or subscribing for more to encourage my future poems, short stories and film reviews etc. Many thanks.
*This feels like a bit of an addendum from this piece below (a free verse poem) that I wrote a little while back.. I think it even came from the same notes in my notebook. It’s a little darker, but you can read it here.
About the Creator
Grz Colm
Film and TV reviews, 🎞 as well as short stories and free verse poems.
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Comments (42)
A nice reflection on the passage of time. I think we can still find our youthful fun if we only change how we see things. I find trying new experiences to be a great way. A new dish or a new city, a new piece of music. A different way to “run” to a new sensation.
Wow. How have I not read your stuff before. You e lived so much more than I. But the result and emotion is the same. Beautifully acccomplished. After 25, Growing older loses its charm and really… it just plain old sucks
Excellent Grz!!! Simply excellent...!!!
I enjoyed this run through your life. Hmmm. Having kids makes it harder in different ways, I think. 🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️ Happy super belated birthday too!!
Time flies, does it not… enjoyable read!
Hi everyone! My name is Michael. I really enjoyed this story! I am a new vocal storywriter. Please check my stories and be sure to rate them in the comments section so i can improve in anything. Hope you nothing but greatness. Big thanks to you in advance! https://vocal.media/authors/michael-stephens
nice
I remember running from city to city, state to state, and sometimes country to country when I was on the road. Yes, I was always lost, always late and always running, my life packed in suitcases. That was in my 20's. In my 30's and 40's I was always running to teach Sunday School, pick kids up for church, running, running, Now that I'm almost 70 my running is done sitting at the computer doing this. Normal people have seasons in their lives. Writers have chapters. You're still running, just not with your legs.
I loved everything about this piece and could relate to alot of it! Sometimes I wish I had a time machine to go back to the early 90s so I could kick it pain free before life became complicated. But I would only visit because here is where I'm supposed to be. You have many new adventures to go on! Welcome to the 40 Club although I'm bouncing next year! 😁 becuz I'll be 50! Happy Belated Birthdaisy! I truly enjoyed this piece! Congrats on your TOP STORY!😊
Oh, I feel you ...
Peter Kay was right - we really do run fastest in our slippers! 😁
First of all, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, Grz!!!! Welcome the the coolest decade yet🤪! I loved your walk (run) down memory lane! So fun to relive those days with you, and can relate to the yearning for those younger years, when things weren’t quite so complicated. One thing I recently realized is that on my 50th, I’ll probably look back on my 40s with fondness. So, now my life goal is to do whatever makes me ecstatically happy. Also, I’ll be 42 next month and I still feel like a kid. 😂 Age is just a number, right?! Hope your new decade brings you happiness, adventure, fun, laughter and ecstatic joy! 💫💞
Hey G, wishing you a veryyyy belated Happy Birthday! 🎂 I totally know what you feel here because I feel the same. I'm 33 but I feel like an 8 year old! I'm a woman-child! 🤣🤣🤣
Oh, I relate to so much of your sentiment here, Grz! 🥹❤️ When you said, "I miss not being ‘woke’ to myself and my deficiencies and The harsh realities of the world around me! 🌍" I was like YES, I feel that so much. Wonderful, truly meaningful poem! Congrats on Top Story! 🤗❤️
Told you it was a Top Story. Keep writing from your heart. Those are the best ones. Congrats my friend.
This is so relatable. Very well done. This line got me, "Now, so much time, I drown in it like poison." Excellent work. Congrats on a well deserved Top Story.
Read this and liked it and forgot to comment, because I'm an idiot! haha! Seriously, this was wonderful! I loved the honesty and even though it was your own experience, I could relate so many of your questions and thoughts to my own past and feelings about aging. It can be quite a moment, hitting the 40s. I'm 43 right now and to be honest, although I am dealing with such a backlog of everything that came before, especially from 21 to 40-41, I like me as a 40 year old. I hope you feel more settled soon. I am sure you will. Congrats on this getting Top Story - it so deserves it!
Family gene of rushing...LOL. Congratulations on Top Story!
Happy birthday and I enjoyed this so much, perhaps because I can relate to it. Age is just a number, I believe in that saying the older I get - which is a blessing in itself. Congrats on an uplifting Top Story - and keep running and writing!
I'm reasonably sure I'm the oldest one to comment on this so far. I'm not too far from 30 on top of your 40. This is a nice look back, but with luck, you have a long way to go. "Fun" evolves. Friendships fall by the wayside and it's usually a good thing. I get a bit nostalgic at times, but when I really consider it, I wouldn't want to go back. (I'm actually working on a piece about that.) I still love to run. These days, a good, long walk with Pam and the dogs is more fun and there's the exercise bike for cardio and weights for some bulk. Enjoy your 40's and congratulations on a deserving Top Story!
When I was a kid I used to love running and I still do. As a kid, I used to wonder why adults don't run and i told myself I would never stop running no matter how old I get. I stopped running during my teenage years because I was super shy. Last time I ran was with my brother in a park with very few people around, having a race against each other. It was many years ago. Moving to very a populated country where there aren't many parks and with my social anxiety at its peak, I regret not running when I had the chance... Maybe someday I will go to countryside and run like I'm running for my life 😂😂😂
https://vocal.media/families/a-group-of-tourists-l8jn0dgv
Check my story
Congratulations on your Awesome ✨ Top Story💥🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
👏🏾🎉 Congratulations on your Top Story! About the jay walking thing, I think it depends on where you live. Some places enforce it more than others. I'm in my mid-20s and there are already things I miss from when I was younger. (Cue someone saying you are too young to be feeling old. Wait until you're 60.) I think some us are feeling older already because the world is moving much faster than it was for others.