Can you buy some if you've lost it?

I’ve been running a lot lately. This is not a new activity for me, though it has been considerably slowed over the years due to several knee injuries, a hip problem and some raging sciatica. Of course, this might be my bodies way of telling me that perhaps I should take up something lighter - say, dominos - but my usual m.o. is to turn a deaf ear to common sense, complain and use up all of the ice in the freezer to calm the swelling of my aching joints. So! Onward!

I weave a nice little path around town that has grown from four miles to six – progress! Kylie is usually with me, her tongue hanging down to her knees, wondering why her mom is punishing her by making her dash by all vertical objects that she would normally be sniffing and/or peeing on. But we must GO! RUN! IMPROVE OUR TIME! It’s also one of the rare hours during the day when no one can get a hold of me and I get some thinking done. Like, why am I watching Millionaire Matchmaker? Do I like Ben Harper? What do I think about the theory of Intelligent Design? Was I showing too much cleavage at dinner with my mother the other day? Is Obama getting any sleep at night? Heady stuff, I’m telling you.

But yesterday, I was just floating along without much going on between my ears. It had been a nice Monday. My hip wasn’t hurting. Kylie was keeping apace and not pulling me towards every promising shrub. The sun was out and it’s supposed to be almost 70 all week. Life was good. I was nearing home with about one more mile to go; the first part meanders through a park.

Now, I understand that spring is springing. People are coming out of their winter doldrums and waking up to the fact that – wooo! summer is nearly here! we’re coming out of the inky jaw of rain and early evenings! And isn’t this traditionally the time when people’s thoughts turn to love? Didn’t some douchebag at Hallmark coin that phrase? Well, SOMEONE had been trolling the card aisle at their local Longs, because SWEET LORD, there was a couple GOING AT IT on the lawn in the park around which I was running. And I couldn’t really avoid looking at them since they were the only other people there.

Now, it had rained the day prior, and there was no discernible blanket beneath them, but there was a lot of rolling around and moaning going on, so I got a pretty clear shot of what appeared to be well embedded grass stains on both the asses and backs of the love birds. And you know what’s sad? That my first thought wasn’t “That’s HOT! Good work you two!” It was “Those stains are going to be a BITCH to get out later! Didn’t they at least think this through enough to put down a towel or something?” Because God forbid someone should give into the urges of passion on a spring day and enjoy a good make-out session without worrying about whether they have enough stain stick at home to warrant such an amorous activity.

I was still thinking about it when I got home later. And how it shows that I've reached a certain time in my life when I think about the consequences of an endeavor...or rather how much work any given action might cause me...before I partake in it. This either shows a growing wisdom, or just that I'm aged and preparing to be a crotchety old woman who pokes her grandkids with her walking stick and says things like, "SHUT YOUR WORD HOLE! MY TALKIES ARE ON!"

Either way, have I lost my spontaneity? I'm worried.