Walking, Stopping and Walking Again

I began walking again this week.

I was able to take a couple of long strolls earlier in the week. The first one was down the street, up a hill and over to a shopping center to get a cup of coffee. See, sometimes I can motivate myself out for a walk if I have a destination. Coffee is always a good motivator and a Starbucks iced grande Americano with room for cream and one Splenda is reason enough to get me outside. It wasn't an easy walk, however. This back pain has made me move much slower. I try to breathe deeply as I'm putting one foot in front of the other. After a small back spasm 8 blocks into the stroll, I had to lie down on the grass and try healing visualization. I Imagined healing white light coming in through my forehead (third eye) and traveling down to the red-throbbing area of pain, mingling with that pain and then breathing out pink air (red-mixed-with-white) until the pain was manageable and I was able to hit the pavement again.

A couple of days later, I strolled a little farther and explored a few stores in the shopping center. On my way home, I walked past a house with a couple of cute barking Dachshunds. I was charmed by their over-stuffed sausage bodies. I said my "hello's" to their oh-so-threatening faces. Their owner was outside. She was a woman in a wheelchair who apologized about her dogs behavior and rolled over to the gate for a chat. We exchanged words for a good ten minutes before it dawned on me that she only had one leg. I swear I did not notice before - in fact, I distinctly thought I remembered seeing 2 somewhat shrunken legs. I was a little shocked when I saw only one pant leg, suddenly, reach the ground. We must have spoken for a good half hour. She told me she was a retired nurse. She explained that her leg had been amputated after 3 unsuccessful knee joint replacement surgeries. She described the pain and the grueling physical therapy she endured before finally making the decision to cut the leg off and learn how to use a prosthetic. I really liked her. Cathy's a tough gal and a survivor.

Today's walk was much shorter - only about 10 blocks and I didn't have the strength to go to the coffee shop. I got ambitious a couple of days ago and did some laundry. That entailed several trips up and down 2 flights of stairs. Right now, climbing stairs requires major motivation. It is amazing the little things that we take for granted when we're in good health.