Lunchtime odd couple

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.  Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NLT)

During the cold months especially, I spend most of my lunch hours in a local church gym.  I should say, I spend about half of my lunch hour there, I do eat first and run quick errands if I need to.  Just recently it dawned on me how much I have come to love the peace and quiet I experience while there.  There is something about going inside that dark gym, flipping on the light and walking without any other interference.  Yes, I'm walking in a carpeted gym when I would really love to be outside on a beautiful day, but that is not an option right now.  Thankfully, this is.

I love it for many reasons.  One, I'm getting at least a half hour of exercise in regardless of what my evening consists of; two, sometimes (most of the time) I need to get out of my office and the courthouse and just be somewhere else - a mental refresher; three, I always take my Nook and read while I walk - yes, I know it sounds crazy, but really you can walk in circles and read without hurting yourself; four, regardless of rain, shine, snow or sleet (even crazy hot temps) I can still walk; and five, I've got an hour to kill.

When grandma was alive, I visited her during my lunch hour.  In the nice weather, I drive to the state park and sit and read, or drive around.  At least once a week, I do my grocery shopping over the noon hour to save time later.  Sometimes, when I don't want to leave the building, I walk circles in the courtroom - although it is not nearly as relaxing. During the winter months, I have to find something to do indoors and this has been the perfect solution.

This winter I've been sharing the gym with a young man who underwent a heart transplant a few months ago and is not attending school right now because of the risk of illness. He is there shooting baskets and doing some exercises and drills, probably to regain lost strength and to - like me, get out of the house! At first, I thought, this will be temporary once he realizes that I am here almost every single day during this time period.

Nope.  It really surprises me that he has not decided to change up the time he comes, but he doesn't.  I am not saying he comes specifically BECAUSE I am there - I know that's not the case - but he must not mind that I'm there.  At the beginning, I would continue to walk around the circumference of the gym and just dodge any stray balls.  After a while, I realized that it might be helpful if I would just stay on one side of the gym and he could stay on the other side (sometimes he has someone with him shooting baskets).

We almost never speak.  I usually wave at him when I arrive and when I leave, or give him a nod.  He is a teenager, and like so many of them, he has ear buds in.  I learned this by trying to talk to him and being ignored, only he wasn't ignoring me, he just couldn't hear me.  I accept that and do the wave and/or nod thing instead.

The very first time I saw him at the gym a few months ago, he was with an older gentleman and he was wearing a mask.  I can't remember how much time had elapsed since his operation, but it hadn't been very long.  I was very surprised to see him, and although I had never met him, I knew exactly who he was.  I asked the pair if they minded if I walked, they said no, and I told the young man that I had been praying for him (and still do especially now that I see him so often).

Selfishly, at times, I wish he wasn't there so I could have full reign of the gym. Why does he continue to come during my lunch hour?  I don't know.  Maybe he wonders why I don't switch up my time to avoid him.  Perhaps he is tired of being alone a large part of his day while his parents work and he would normally be in school.  And then again, maybe God put us there together just in case he would have trouble...