Breathe

It feels so good to breathe.

I don't mean one of those short quick breaths.  I mean the ones that you pull in enough air to fill every crevice of your lungs.  No dark place inside escapes its refreshment.  It just feels good. 

I don't think I breathe enough.  I run and run and run.  I hold my breath for hours, days, months.  I think after my first child was born, I didn't breathe for a year and half.  Nerves and stress leave me gasping.  The demands of today and the needs of others pull me away from a good inhale/exhale combo.

But, when I do stop.  When I do allow myself to draw in a big, huge breath, it's like a baby's first inhale as it enters the world.  It's like coming up to the surface of the water after a long swim.  It's what I'd been wanting to do for a long time, but never allowed myself.  And, sometimes, frankly, it's overdue. 

I'm breathing today. 

And, it feels good.