Time to 'Fess Up

I haven't been a "good patient" for the past few months.

My heart surgeon wants me to exercise for an hour or more, 7 days a week. I am nowhere near that goal. Have only done 2 or 3 days a week, a half hour or so, for a while now. I blame my feet. "Plantar Fasciaitis" - severe foot and heel pain, and also the usual joint problems in my knees and hips. Not a young woman anymore. I am now wearing tight elastic bands on my arches, to help repair the damage. Bought new arch supports for the inside of my shoes and boots and ordered new boots that should arrive next week. I have a dog now, and he loves to go for hikes into the back wilderness with me. I know I have to get my act together but lack motivation.

I hear weekly reports about my mother's slide into sedentary feebleness. She has only taken 5 steps, since her second hip replacement. The rest home uses a convoluted piece of equipment to get her out of a chair and into the bathroom. My sister calls it The Jaws of Life. Sounds like a small fork lift with a claw attachment. I don't want to become like that. Mother exercised a lot when she was younger. She was always biking, swimming or walking. Then she got her knees replaced - and the operation failed. Thus ended her physically active life. According to her doctor, her bones are now literally dissolving from lack of use.

Outside of walking (or hiking), physical activity in public is not something I ever gravitated towards. When I was a kid, I endured plenty of cruel taunts from classmates about my prematurely developed body (and especially my breasts). It made me want to hide. I mustered up all of my courage in 9th grade and won a coveted slot on the Junior High cheerleading squad. My bouncing breasts during "stomp cheer" in an assembly elicited deafening laughter from the crowd. After that year, I never went out for cheerleading, again.

I know I'm erecting mental barriers to movement. Once the new boots arrive, I hope to motivate myself to walk at least one more day a week. I'm tired of my tightening jeans.