Crossing Paths

     I saw this blog on Facebook today and had to share.  It is so beautifully written and very true. I have often thought about the things she expresses.

http://www.chronicrunner.com/2015/08/tales-of-longtime-runner-crossing-paths.html

     Thinking back, there are many people I have seen regularly that are no longer there, and people whose dogs are no longer with them.
     Charleigh (and my dog Sadie before her), and I have made many trail acquaintances. They are part of our lives, of our world. We see them most days, at least in the summer months. That is the wonderful part of having a dog and no fenced yard....we meet such nice people.
     There was the red-haired FBI agent in his 50s who ran daily without fail with his border collie, till he wasn't there any more.  A job transfer maybe?
     There was the pregnant jogger-Mom with a toddler in a stroller, a preschooler on a bike, and a big dog at her side.  I do still see her out jogging, but rarely.  Her youngest must be in college by now.
     There is the elderly man on a bike who shouts out the most delightful "Good Morning" to everyone as he waves and passes by with a huge smile, and the other elderly man with a pair of hiking sticks that he uses like canes as he slowly traverses the trails every day.
     There was the dog-whisperer who could see people's auras.  She moved away.
     Then there is the couple who love Charleigh....he is a Viet Nam Vet and she is rehabbing after two knee replacements.
     Another gentleman is disabled and sits in his car in the parking lot at the park listening to ball-games and waiting for his wife to get off work. He throws pennies out of his window because he enjoys watching kids find them.
     And Tim, the maintenance/caretaker at the park.
     I would miss them if they were not there one day.
   
     As the blog mentioned, I too have wondered " if someday I will be that old woman, so full of life, who someone sees everyday and then suddenly thinks about once I'm gone..."