Why You Don't Run In Church

Angie is one of my best friends, who I have been very close to since the first day of kindergarten. (She now lives along the Eastern shore with a husband and two babies). Growing up, we were both very good girls. However, one could probably argue that I was the instigator in most of our adventures. Our 20+ mile walk from her house to my house? My idea. Chasing the boys around the playground in elementary school? Guilty. Running blindfolded in the church? That was probably a great game I thought up, as well.

The first mistake is that Angie's church had a gymnasium. We grew up in a little town where churches kept their doors unlocked and no one bothered them. So one Saturday afternoon, an innocent game of basketball turned into an adventure in the sanctuary.

It started out as a simple "trust game", the kind where one person is blindfolded, and the other guides them around, tells them where to step, and what to do. After a few minutes, we ended upstairs in the Sunday School rooms. Right outside the Sunday School rooms was the sanctuary.

My first mistake was thinking that I knew what I was doing when I really didn't (a mistake I still make quite often). I was blindfolded, Angie was leading me. My second mistake was thinking I was funnier than I really am (another mistake I still make). Angie's instructions? Keep walking. My interpretation? Maggie-you-are-going-down-the-middle-aisle-so-you-have-plenty-of-room. Not true. I start running, thinking I'm funny and this is cool and isn't this great, and I hear Angie running behind me. And I felt the wall.

The moments after the impact are shady, at best. My first thought that I remember was "Thank God the cartilage didn't bust up into my brain and kill me". But a trip to the doctor's office later confirmed that yes, my nose was indeed broken, and no, nose cartilage can't be jammed up into your brain and kill you.

Fast forward to present day. For the most part, the breaking of my nose does not hinder my routine. And the small piece of bone you can feel on the side of my nose makes for a great conversation piece (again, here's me thinking I'm funnier than I am). The downside to having a unique nose bridge? I don't breathe through my nose very easily. I am a mouth breather.

Ted always says I make him feel tired. I sound like I'm dying long before I actually am, and if I allow myself, will actually feel like I am. I like to think it's part of my secret, a way to psyche out the competition...no one sees the huffer-and-puffer at Mile One as being a true threat. Little do they realize...hahaha. Broad Street is mine! :-)