Relax,Recoup,Return,Rejoice

First off, RELAX. You may not be a spring chicken any longer and some minor injuries, bumbs and bruises can be expected from time to time. I recently worked my way up to walking three miles a day with my online college P.E. class. I was killing it I tell ya! Till that right knee I had replaced in 2017 started hurting. Not while I walked mind you but after. And it wasn’t the bionic knee that hurt, it was above and below. Ya know… where the old parts are that my mother, obviously, didn’t invest in the extended warranty before she drove me off the labor and delivery floor some 57 years ago.

This is where most people, and believe me I was tempted, just say, Oooohhh… I just can’t do that anymore. But instead, I was pissed. I called the ortho and scheduled an appointment. A strained patellar, knee strap, lidocaine ointment, kryo-pack and some schedule physical therapy later I had to accept that I was going to have to have some RECOUP time. Instead of a three mile walk, I tried to do some chores outside each day ( I found a ribbon snake and no I did not scream) and even went to the neighborhood pool a few times (OMG, My bathing suit fits sooooooo much better.)

Yesterday morning, I geared up, put my knee strap on and headed out. I wasn’t sure I was going to do three miles- but I was determined to try. I’d actually been missing my walks. I missed saying good morning to all the little critters I said hello to each day. Why, that morning I just felt like Snow White skipping along,chatting away to the birds, squirrels and bayou turtles …minus the hair bow, blue dress and those pesky dwarfs of course. Aghhh. I had RETURNED!! I made it three miles!!! I was a sweat drenched, happy mess!

So today, I can REJOICE. I have lost 20lbs and I started my day out with a walk and facing the final week of Summer Session II. Finals today look very different from the 1980’s. There is no Chanello’s pizza box on the coffee table, no bags of miniture candy bars or stacks of dirty laundry tossed among the text books and spirals. Just me, a sports bottle of ice water and a laptop. So when you see those obnoxious ads poping up on your Facebook feed that shows the animated fat girl walking and the pounds just melting off, it’s not quite that easy. But it does help. Just like everything else in life, it takes putting one foot in front of the other.

I love each and every one of you

Juliana Wathen @2020