from my Crosscall Action X3
No one told me it was gonna be that hard... The life, the job, the wife, the kids. No yesterday, no tomorrow, just the present, repeating again and again, every day the same as the one before.
And no one warned me about time, the unbearable lack of it. That I would have none, not a single hour without thinking when to pick up the kids tonight, what to cook tomorrow, what to repair in the house this week-end. Not a single moment when I can be free, meet again with 20-years old me and feel that I could conqueer the world one step at a time.
Sorry, this is actually a happy post, full of positiveness 😁 Let me get to the point!
You got it, I'm a married man, happy dad of two little champs and we all live in a small but cozy little house North of Berlin. This is the life I chose, and deep inside, I feel happy. But the daily routine and the lack of free time is a hassle. I miss runniung especially. With the commuting, the job, the kids to pick up and feed, the homework to do, the time I like to spend with them before putting them to bed. I end up with 30 min to 1 hour just for myself at the end of the day and I am usually too tired to do anything.
But there is ONE THING that no one told me either, it's that I will start to look at time differently and learn how to make good use of any second of free time I could catch. Where most people see commuting, a lunch break or 1 hour to kill, I see opportunity! It just pops into my mind, like a big red button flashing by. My creative mind gets in motion and comes up with tortuous ideas how to make the best use of that time. Some are crazy (I did try to get up at 5 am and run in the middle of winter), but some are brilliant!
That's how I find myself running along the S-Bahn line, on a narrow bycicle lane lost in the middle of the woods. I just dropped the kids at school and I have my usual 45 min of commuting in front of me. Except that today I put on my running shoes and I am running from school to work. It's about 8km, it's 8 am in the morning and temperatures are dropping to 1 digit. But instead of getting stuck inside an overheated train between that guy who never showers and the band playing "Hit the road Jack", I am free.
I love Berlin, as it is full of gree areas. You can cross parts of the city almost without seeing a car. Like now, I am following that trail in the middle of a very busy area. I eventually leave it for a park and some playgrouds between two main streets. In my ears, the thrilling voice of the narrator is reading me another chapter of H. P. Lovecraft. Another brilliant idea I had a few years ago. Life's too busy and you have no time to read? Come on, be inventive! You can find countless of free audiobooks read by enthousiasts volunteers all over the web. And I love them when I run, as the effort stimulates my brain and increases my focus. I remember very well all the audiobooks I listened to during my runs!
Another couple of kilometers and I arrive at work. I'm so lucky, we have a shower and a washing machine now. 15 min later I'm at my desk, sipping on my first coffee. I feel amazing, like I could conqueer the world... Like 20-years old me 😎
from my Crosscall Action X3
Cheers
Alex
