an almost new experience
Today was the first meetup for the parkour group I started over at meetup.com. It looked like it was going to be just me for a bit, so I just did some wall jumps, stair running, and some rolls on the grass. After close to 40 minutes, when I was about to hang it up and leave, someone else showed up.
We’re both new to parkour, but we jogged around and did some more wall jumps, and talked. Turns out he stopped going to the dojo I currently study at just before I started going there.
Conversation and commonality aside, it was good to meet someone else interested in parkour. I really enjoyed the time in the park, and on the way home I found myself really jazzed. It occurred to me - for the first time in a very long time, probably years, I had fun. I’ve done lots of things I enjoyed that made me happy, but this - this was fun. The kind of fun that makes you smile and say I can’t wait to do that again.
It was cool for two reasons - one, I actually had someone to do it with, at least for a while. Two, just the pleasure of the moment - moving for the joy of movement, for the freedom to do whatever I wanted. I never really realized this before, but the fun things I did as a kid were athletic too - even if I wasn’t particularly athletic as a kid. There’s something to be said for getting up off the sofa and getting moving in a way you enjoy.
I can’t wait until next time.