I look across the street and there she is on the opposite sidewalk
My future self
White hair tightly permed
Dressed for the day and all its happenings
Earrings
necklace
rings
But with the sporty walker
bright blue
I don’t know if this is her first outing of many today (her complex has a bus to take them to the grocery store) or if this is the first time she has felt like going out in weeks
The cool morning is a reprieve from the scorching sun both from days past and forecast ahead
We keep up a similar pace, but only for a few seconds
I try to catch her eye, share a greeting, but she is sunglass-covered eyes focused straight ahead
I take off on a slow jog and cross the street ahead of her
I fool myself into thinking I am ahead of her
The same way a runner on a track may look like they are ahead
But they are many laps behind
many, many laps behind